After a seven-game losing streak, the Mountaineers finally defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys last year, and they are looking to do so once again, this time on their homecoming.
Historically, West Virginia has two wins against the Cowboys at home- one 10 years ago with Dana Holgorsen and one in 1928 with coach Ira Rodgers when Oklahoma State was known as Oklahoma A&M. With historical context in mind, though, a lack of at-home success against OSU may be the least of the Mountaineers’ worries.
In 11 years as conference rivals, the Mountaineers have defeated the Cowboys just three times, making for a total losing record of 5-9. Beyond just those numbers, though, there are games in favor of either team that players and fans may look to for inspiration ahead of this week eight matchup.
1987: Christmas Day Sun Bowl
In the only Bowl Game matchup between the two teams, both put on a show in the 35-33 victory for Oklahoma State. The game featured two star running backs, as junior Anthony Brown led the Mountaineers with 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and senior first-team All-American and future NFL MVP Thurman Thomas posted four touchdowns and 157 yards for Oklahoma State. Also playing in the Sun Bowl were WVU quarterback Major Harris, who won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Year award in each of the next two seasons, and OSU running back Barry Sanders, who won the Heisman Trophy the following season.
Thomas opened the Christmas Day game with two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter. Anthony Brown rushed one yard for a touchdown of his own in between the two scores, putting West Virginia down 14-7 before a 17-0 run in the second quarter. The run featured another touchdown from Brown, a 33-yard field goal, and an interception for a 23-yard touchdown from the game’s most valuable lineman, Darnell Warren.
The second half did not go as favorably for the Mountaineers, as the Cowboys fought for two more touchdowns and a one-point lead in the third quarter. Of the touchdowns were Thomas’s third and the only receiving touchdown of the game from OSU’s J.R. Dillard. The fourth quarter ended with one touchdown each from the two team’s, but with Oklahoma State making the extra point and WVU failing on a two-point conversion attempt, the Sun Bowl ended in favor of the Cowboys. This was the first win of the all-time series for Oklahoma State and was the only win to take place before WVU’s move to the Big 12.
2015: Overtime game ends in the beginning of an OSU win streak
In the teams’ fourth time facing off in conference play, the Cowboys grabbed their first win in Morgantown, 33-26. The overtime victory was the first of a seven-year winning streak for OSU over West Virginia.
Oklahoma State led 17-2 after the first half of play, with West Virginia defensive lineman Kyle Rose scoring a safety for their only two points of the half. The Mountaineers fought back in the second half, starting with two touchdowns in the third quarter and forcing an Oklahoma State loss of possession on the extra point attempt after their own touchdown. WVU tied the game in the fourth quarter with just over two minutes remaining on a rushing touchdown from junior quarterback Skyler Howard.
In overtime, though, Oklahoma State fought through to capitalize on the momentum they gained in the first half, winning off of a rushing touchdown from senior quarterback J.W. Walsh. In the next six years, the Mountaineers only finished within a seven-point margin once, in the 2019 season.
2022: Mountaineers end season by breaking two Oklahoma State winning streaks
In the last game of their 2022 football season, the Mountaineers took down the Cowboys to break both their own seven-year losing streak and OSU’s 14-game home winning streak in college football.
The Mountaineers found themselves down 10-7 at halftime after scoring the only points of the game’s first quarter, but Neal Brown’s team came out with the first two touchdowns of the next half, which were both over 50-yard runs from redshirt freshman Jaylen Anderson. OSU scored 9 points to finish the third quarter but were unable to score again in the fourth, allowing WVU to extend their lead for their fifth win of the season and their first against the Cowboys in eight years.
Photo by Dale Sparks, All Pro Photography, WVU Athletics
