West Virginia 38-14 Oklahoma State (Oct. 5, 2024) Game Recap

STILLWATER, Okla. — Jahiem White ran for 158 yards and a touchdown and West Virginia rolled past Oklahoma State 38-14 on Saturday afternoon.

Garrett Greene passed for 159 yards and ran for 86, and CJ Donaldson Jr. added 77 rushing yards and two scores for the Mountaineers (3-2, 2-0 Big 12).

West Virginia coach Neal Brown called the win “special.”

“I thought it was dominant,” he said. “I thought our preparation, personnel, play, mental, physical, emotional – I thought our guys were ready to go.”

West Virginia gained 389 of its 558 yards on the ground. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said defensive players tackled poorly and often got out of position.

“It looked to me like we had the worst tackling day of the year,” Gundy said. “In my mind, I counted up to eight tackles where we had a chance to hit an opponent and bring them down for a two-yard gain or less, and we rebounded and they ended up being big ones Runs.

“I think that was a bit of a problem. We didn’t tackle well at all in this game.”

Oklahoma State (3-3, 0-3), one of the preseason favorites for the Big 12 title, suffered its third straight loss. The Cowboys managed just 227 total yards, including just 36 rushing yards.

Alan Bowman threw two interceptions before being benched in the third quarter. Garret Rangel replaced him and threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to De'Zhaun Stribling in the fourth quarter. Bowman has struggled throughout the losing streak, and Gundy said the extra time in the upcoming bye week will help him decide who should start in the next round.

“We have to look and evaluate,” he said. “I don't want to make a decision and say something every now and then that it might not be true. But we have to look and see where we are.”

Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon II, who won the Doak Walker Award last year for the nation's top running back, left the game in the third quarter with a leg injury and did not return. He finished the game with 50 yards on 13 carries. Last year at West Virginia, he ran for 282 yards and four touchdowns and led the Cowboys to a 48-34 victory. Gundy said Gordon is just broken and he doesn't expect him to be out long-term.

West Virginia took control early. Greene temporarily left the game at the end of a 39-yard run in the first quarter, and Nicco Marchiol threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Traylon Ray to give the Mountaineers a 10-0 lead.

The Mountaineers took a 24-0 lead before Oklahoma State entered the game. West Virginia's final score of the second quarter, an 8-yard touchdown run by Donaldson with 28 seconds left in the first half, gave the Mountaineers a 31-7 lead at halftime.

West Virginia outgained Oklahoma State 345 yards to 115 before halftime, with 259 yards on the ground.

Brown said the Mountaineers should be happy about a road win against a program with a good reputation.

“I think in this profession sometimes it’s not enough for us to really celebrate,” he said. “This is a really big deal. We're in a difficult situation against a program that has often won ten games to a head.” The coach will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at some point. And that's a big deal.

The snack bar

West Virginia: The Mountaineers looked motivated and ready from the start. They overwhelmed Oklahoma State the old-fashioned way – running 65 times and throwing just 16 passes.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys didn't just get beat, they looked gutted in a game they needed to keep their already slim hopes of reaching the Big 12 title game alive. Now the Cowboys may struggle to maintain their consecutive winning streak, which dates back to 2006.

Stat lines

West Virginia's offense held the ball for nearly 44 minutes, and the Mountaineers ran 81 plays while Oklahoma State ran 45.

Quotable

Gundy on motivating players now that their highest goals are out of reach: “Keeping them motivated — that’s really my job. But these are grown men. You have to motivate yourself. That must be important to them. And do I think it's a problem? I don't. I think they’ll come back and train really well.”

Next

West Virginia: Hosts No. 16 Iowa State on Saturday.

Oklahoma State: Visits No. 17 BYU on Friday, Oct. 18.

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