Seven days after their most complete performance in the five seasons under head coach Neal Brown, West Virginia looked like a completely different team than the one which dismantled BYU.
The Mountaineers entered Saturday night against No. 17 Oklahoma with everything to play for as far as competing for the Big 12 Championship.
A pair of two-loss teams, Saturday served as an opportunity for the Mountaineers to leapfrog the Sooners in the Big 12 standings and continue their pursuit of a chance to play in the Big 12 Championship.
For West Virginia (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) though, in the final meeting against Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) before they bolt for the SEC, it looked like more like the previous meetings over the past decade as Oklahoma rolled past West Virginia 59-20.
Things were promising early for West Virginia early, as for the third consecutive game the Mountaineers scored on their opening drive of the game. CJ Donaldson punched in a 13-yard rush, his 10th touchdown of the season as West Virginia took an early touchdown lead four minutes into the game.
That would be West Virginia’s only lead of the game as from that point things unraveled and in a hurry.
Oklahoma used just 2:33 to respond with a touchdown tying the game at 7-all, and then after a three-and-out from the Mountaineers, Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel rushed in for his second 2-yard touchdown rush in as many drives as the Sooners led 14-7 late in the first quarter.
West Virginia’s offense did them no favors for the majority of the first half following the opening drive score. For West Virginia’s five drives following the opening score, they ran 17 offensive plays for 13 yards.
Oklahoma’s offense did not slow down scoring on four of their first five drives, with four of them going for touchdowns. None of those drives took longer than 3:26 of game time, as Gabriel picked apart West Virginia’s defense.
After his two touchdown rushes, Gabriel and the Sooners settled for a 23-yard field goal taking a 17-7 lead. Then, on their next two possessions, the Sooners ended up converting on a 3-yard pass to Austin Stogner, and then a 32-yard pass to Jayden Gibson as the Sooners opened up a 31-7 lead.
Needing a score, West Virginia got down to the Oklahoma one yard line, late in the first half, trying to cut into the Sooner lead. More problems arose for the Mountaineers though, as they couldn’t convert on three consecutive plays from the goal line. This was the second time the Mountaineers were denied points as after a muffed punt from the Sooners in the first quarter, Michael Hayes missed a 48-yard field goal.
West Virginia ended up getting their first stop on defense, before Garrett Greene led a six-play touchdown drive, aided by 30 penalty yards on the drive as well as a completion from Greene to Devin Carter for 28 yards.
Despite Greene’s struggles, the story of the night was West Virginia’s defense. After almost pitching a shutout against BYU last week, the Mountaineers allowed 646 yards of total offense, with 423 of those yards coming through the air.
Gabriel passed for five touchdowns, with Drake Stoops catching 10 passes for 164 yards and three scores. Gavin Sawchuck rushed 22 times for 125 yards.Â
Oklahoma began the second half the way they ended the first. The Sooners scored on a 60-yard pass from Gabriel to Stoops, before Stoops later added two more touchdown receptions in the second half.
Greene finished his day passing for 154 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. One of those touchdowns came right before halftime to Kole Taylor, while the second came in the third quarter on a 7-yard pass to Devin Carter. Donaldson rushed for 79 yards and was injured in the third quarter of the game, leaving with a left ankle injury.
