“And they stayed in it even when we let (West Virginia) back in the game”. Out of rhythm from the jump, Howard struggled with accuracy and decision making throughout. They were flagged seven times in the first quarter for a total of 85 yards, and most of those penalty yards came on the Mountaineers fifth possession where they scored their only touchdown of the first half. Halfback Wendell Smallwood is the team’s leading rusher with 48 carries for 331 yards and 4 TDs.
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The Sooners had 427 total yards of offense with 320 passing yards and 107 rushing yards.
With all the talk of Air Raid offenses in the conference, West Virginia is keeping pace with its 543 offensive yards per game, but it’s the defense that’s turning heads. With the prospect of facing four ranked teams in a row, this schedule could snowball quickly on West Virginia. Football Outsiders ranked the Mountaineers ninth in overall defense, and their pass defense metrics dwarfed every other team in the country.
The Mountaineers closed the gap in the third quarter. WVU’s Skyler Howard has gained national attention, most recently completing 21 of 33 pass attempts for 294 yards and four touchdowns against the Terps before giving way to backup William Crest Jr. early in the fourth quarter.
“That sounds good”, said Striker, whose pressure contributed to the secondary intercepting Howard three times, which was two more picks than he threw across his first eight games.
“They were intense early on”, Mayfield said.
On the ensuing possession, the Mountaineers would start at their own 14-yard line but quickly flip the field aided by a trio of 15-yard personal foul penalties to set the ball up in the Oklahoma red zone.
Tony Gibson had bad news for just about everyone who called him with the same question over the a year ago.
The Sooners travel to Dallas-Fort Worth to play their hated rival Texas.
To borrow from the maxim, “It’s now how you start, but how you finish…”, there probably isn’t a more telling description of how the Sooner football season has gone through the opening three games. Player of the Game: Oklahoma LB Eric Striker made 13 tackles with two sacks and three tackles for loss. Mayfield found Sterling Shepard in the second quarter for a 28-yard touchdown when the Mountaineers blitzed. His effort earned co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
“I think that’s fair to say – still learning these guys, how they are during games”, Riley said.
West Virginia has yet to face Mayfield, who sat out Texas Tech’s win in Morgantown in 2013 with a twisted knee.
After a touchback, Westbrook caught an 18-yard pass from Mayfield but Daryl Worley was able to force a fumble and give the ball back to the Mountaineers inside Oklahoma territory.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney gestures to his team during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Louisville in Louisville, Ky.
Alex Ross returned a kickoff 100 yards just before halftime past year for the Sooners.
Saturday, the Sooners defense wasn’t ideal.
Kicker Josh Lambert has hit all 16 of his PATs and is 6 of 9 in field goals.
Mixon’s 35-yard burst up the middle late in the second quarter gave the Sooners a 24-7 advantage.
West Virginia no longer has time to savor a solid September. This should be a high scoring shootout but I like the Sooners to win a close game at home.
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Mayfield’s performance helped overcome a surprisingly shaky day from the running game.
