RECAP: West Virginia drops another one to Oklahoma State in Stillwater

The West Virginia Mountaineers (1-1) on paper were the better team today, but that wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard — Oklahoma State 27, West Virginia 13 — thanks to numerous costly mistakes by the Mountaineers. If you’re looking for a masterclass on shooting yourself on the foot, West Virginia wrote the lesson plan this afternoon.

The Mountaineers have now lost six straight to the Cowboys.

Highlights

Box Score

West Virginia

Oklahoma State

Takeaways

• This game was hideous. West Virginia ran the ball well enough and the defense had a decent game, but my god, talk about the ball never bouncing in your favor. Oklahoma State fumbled the ball three times inside their own territory, and managed to recover all three.
• The offensive line got exposed a bit today in pass protection, and Jarret Doege looked petrified in the pocket. Doege finished the day 20-of-37 (54%) for 285 yards and one touchdown.
• I’m almost ready to say any concerns we had about West Virginia’s run game improving over that abhorrent showing in 2019 can be forgotten. Leddie Brown has been a stud and is running harder than we’ve ever seen him run. Alec Sinkfield is a perfectly fine compliment to Brown. We’re going to be alright on the ground this season.
• Alonzo Addae and Tony Fields are my sleeper picks to carry this defense this season, I think. I know everyone thought the Stills brothers were going to be the most important piece, and they probably are, but Addae and Fields were fantastic transfer pickups by Neal Brown.

Injury Report

• VanDarius Cowan went down with an apparent injury to the same knee he tore last season on the opening drive of the second half. Thankfully it seems as though it may have just been a minor injury, as he was seen running up and down the sideline in the fourth quarter.

Players of the Game

Leddie Brown

Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

Brown has had back-to-back 100-yard games, which is quite the feat considering the Mountaineers only had two games as a team with over 100 yards last season. He’s been a real bright spot early in the season.

What’s Next?

West Virginia is at home next Saturday, when they’re scheduled to welcome the Baylor Bears into a fan-less Milan Puskar Stadium, provided both teams can meet the Big 12 requirement for available players. That game is scheduled for a Noon kickoff and will be broadcast on ABC.