Oklahoma State football: 3 takeaways from win over West Virginia

1. West Virginia’s defense kept them in the game

West Virginia’s offense punted the ball six times on Saturday. They converted just 37.5 (6-16) percent of their 3rd down attempts. They committed 11 penalties as a team. They lost two fumbles, and one resulted in an immediate touchdown the other way. All that, and they were still in the game late into the fourth quarter.

That doesn’t happen if the West Virginia defense isn’t really good. They won the battle at the line of scrimmage, save for two broken plays that saw the Cowboys take it the distance. Subtract Brown’s 66 yard score and Hubbard’s 23 yard score, and the Mountaineers’ defense looked like a contender.

Arizona transfer Tony Fields came up with a timely interception and return that led to a West Virginia score. The Stills brothers — Dante and Darius — clogged up running lanes and made things difficult for the Cowboy signal-caller. They weren’t able to get off the field on 3rd down as much as they’d hoped, though, stopping Oklahoma State just seven of their 14 attempts.

If they can just get a little more production from their offense, though, the Mountaineers could win a bunch of football games. Holding a Gundy-coached team — with weapons like Hubbard, Brown, and Tylan Wallace — to just 27 points in Stillwater is an accomplishment in itself. It’s just a shame the West Virginia offense didn’t travel with the team.