West Virginia (3-1) might have suffered a major setback with the loss to Oklahoma, and an even bigger one with the knee injury suffered by Joseph, but it’s still deep in the mix for the Big 12 title if it can pull off the win over Oklahoma State (5-0). “And when JW is in the game, I would think they would have to be aware of where he is on the field because he can keep the ball”, said Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy. The Cowboys are ranked No. 22 in the nation in total offense with 483.2 yards and 38 points per game, while the defensive unit also ranks inside the nation’s top 25 allowing only 310 yards and 19 points over the first five games of the season.
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Nate Feken reports from Morgantown.
Oklahoma State (6-0, 3-0) was in danger of losing to West Virginia for the third straight season after blowing a 15-point halftime lead.
The West Virginia Mountaineers will travel to Waco, Texas to face the No. 2-ranked Baylor Bears on Saturday.
They will have two weeks to figure out what that offense will look like in a tune-up against Kansas before the brunt of the conference schedule in November.
Oklahoma State’s second half was far from convincing as the Mountaineers forced four punts and two interceptions from starting quarterback Mason Rudolph. The Mountaineers started out 3-0 but had a 44overvallen24 deficit at Oklahoma recently.
Like Holgorsen, who was his offensive coordinator in 2010, Gundy is trying to tweak his running game. It’s no better in the first half against West Virginia (2.2). West Virginia leads the all-time series, 4-2, including 2-0 in Morgantown.2. The defense, which will sorely miss the hard-hitting Joseph, held Oklahoma to 107 yards rushing and is led by senior LB Nick Kwiatkoski who has a team best 29 tackles, including 4.5 for loss.EXTRA POINTS1. “(I) can’t say enough about how much that affects the game, how our players play, our guys are excited to be home”. But for at least one more game Howard deserves that chance to redeem himself.
“When you do that (compete) against a very talented West Virginia team, you have to take a few kind of joy in that that your work has been rewarded”, Potter said. WVU is too good of a team offensively to get blown out, and Baylor is certainly willing to give up its fair share of yards and points.
It’s time for the Oklahoma State offense to turn the corner this season. Raymond Taylor has 12 carries for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Howard finished 18 of 35 for 188 yards and a TD. Defensively, WVU is allowing 20 points and 342.2 yards per game. Most importantly, that included penalties.
“It’s a humbling experience”, he said.
“I don’t know how I feel about that as a coach, ” Holgorsen said.
“It’s going to be tough; they’re on a roll”, he said.
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West Virginia is outscoring teams 39-17 this season. The Mountaineers struggled mightily with turnover margin a season ago but had done a great job managing that area prior to the five give-a-ways they had against Oklahoma.
