West Virginia Football: 3 takeaways from crushing loss at Oklahoma State

3. Oklahoma State is one of the best teams in the Big 12

Woeful inconsistency has plagued Oklahoma State all season, and it’s the impetus for why a team with enough talent to win the conference needed this win over West Virginia to even garner bowl eligibility.

It’s criminal with the talent level on the roster that the Cowboys are just 6-5; they’ve proven time-and-time again that they can compete with the best-of-the-best in college football.

The win over West Virginia is the second top 10 team they’ve taken down this season in Stillwater, not to mention an early season win over ranked Boise State. Last week, the ‘Pokes also gave Oklahoma all they could handle, and came within a two-point conversion of knocking off the Sooners.

So how, around those games, did Mike Gundy’s crew manage to lose to the likes of Texas Tech, Kansas State, and Baylor? Those three teams all need a win on the final weekend of the regular season to even clinch bowl eligibility, and yet they took down the Cowboys.

It’s not an easy question to answer, but a subpar turnover margin (the Cowboys were -4 coming into this game, and finished -3 in this game) is part of the problem, as well as playing to their level of competition. Oklahoma State has saved their best games of the season for their biggest challenges, and fallen on their face against teams they should have beaten.

At times, the ‘Pokes have looked like a legitimate top 15 team that could threaten for a Big 12 Championship and a New Year’s Six bowl game. Other times, they’ve looked every bit a conference cellar dweller and the fringe bowl team they turned out to be.

When the Cowboys put it all together, though, they’re undoubtedly one of the best teams in the Big 12, capable of knocking off anyone on a given night.