Mountaineers Stink In Norman, Season Far From Over

Going into Saturday's game, West Virginia had showed a lot of promise. The Mountaineer defense had looked particularly good.

During the game early Saturday afternoon against the Oklahoma Sooners, West Virginia got it's weaknesses exposed.

It seemed like a lack of experience as time and time again, when the Mountaineers gained the momentum back, the secondary broke down and left a receiver wide open for an easy counter touchdown and a total loss of mojo.

7-0 Oklahoma

7-7

14-7 Oklahoma

17-7 Oklahoma

24-7 Oklahoma

24-14 Oklahoma

24-17 Oklhoma

27-17 Oklahoma

27-24 Oklahoma

34-24 Oklahoma

You get the point.

Maybe expecting the Mountaineers to win in Norman was unrealistic, regardless of how good this team is.

According to Soonerstats.com, under current head coach Bob Stoops, the Sooners are 90-8 at home. That's a ridiculous .918 winning percentage in Norman, Oklahoma. All-time, the Sooners are 373-84-15 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. A .806 win percentage.

With Saturday's win, the Sooners moved up to 10th in the AP Top 25 Poll and ninth in the Coaches Poll.

Even with the near impossibility of winning on the road in Norman, the Mountaineers out rushed the Sooners 196-107 and WVU running back Wendell Smallwood ran for 111 yards on 22 carries. WVU fans haven't seen this kind of rushing attack since the departure of Noel Devine and certainly since Holgorsen's "Air Raid" offense took over the WVU football program. The Mountaineer offense, at times, looked anemic. However, with a potent rushing game even on a bad day and a passing game that is still coming along with some young athletes, there's no doubt this team can win some big games.

Sure, Saturday's loss was disappointing.

The Mountaineers and fans need to regroup and focus on beating Oklahoma State at home in front of a night game atmosphere at Milan Puskar Stadium that will be striped in Blue and Gold. The team needs the fans more than ever. Beating a 5-0 ranked Oklahoma State squad at home would put WVU right back in the Big 12 title discussion continuing one of the hardest scheduled stretches in the nation.

A win next Saturday night also sends a message to upcoming opponents Baylor (Waco, 10/17) and TCU (Ft. Worth, 10/29) that the Mountaineers can play with anyone.