Oklahoma
MAILBAG: What to Make of Oklahoma State Blowout + A Shift in Expectations?
West Virginia pummeled Oklahoma State this past weekend 38-14 on the road and will now return home for a big matchup with No. 11 Iowa State. Following Saturday’s game, we received a handful of questions for this week’s mailbag.
From @OldWisdom44:
Q: Why did Coach Brown take two timeouts into the locker room and not force Okie Light to snap it on fourth down?
A: Great question, mostly because I was wondering the same exact thing. I understand being content with a 31-7 lead, but why not make them punt it? When I asked this on X (Twitter), a lot of folks were nervous about muffing the punt. I wouldn’t even punt a returner back there. It would be about just making them snap and get off a clean kick more than anything. And no, it wouldn’t be wise to send all 11 to rush the punt because if you have a roughing the kicker penalty, then it gives Oklahoma State a chance. But you’re absolutely right. Make them snap and punt the ball. Heck, he may shank it, and all of a sudden you can take a shot to get into field goal range.
From @wvufan2023:
Q: After seeing how we played on Saturday, how do you like our chances against Iowa State next week?
A: In our revised predictions show on Between The Eers, I actually picked WVU to win this game. You would think I would feel even better about that pick after what transpired in Stillwater, but it instead it has me second-guessing. I will hold my final prediction for our article on Thursday, but I do think this is a winnable game for the Mountaineers. Iowa State had a very impressive road win at Iowa, but hasn’t really been tested outside of that WVU is super confident and has been through the wringer.
From @pbnjdomenico:
Q: That was an unexpected blowout. How does that reset our expectations for this year?
A: Nothing major. If anything, I think it removes the fear of not making a bowl game. For this team to assert themselves as a true contender in the Big 12 and perhaps nationally, that will depend on the outcome of these next two home games against Iowa State and Kansas State. Even splitting these next two isn’t the end of the world, and it’ll have folks believing.
From @Jeremia62776484:
Q: Going to be a hype and exciting Saturday night vs. a good ISU team. Can WVU deliver or will we go back to old habits?
A: As mentioned above, I’ll hold my prediction for Thursday, but I don’t foresee them laying an egg. Since they got the ball back down eleven against Kansas, this has been a different football team. They know they have the talent, they’re playing much better in all three phases and will have a massive crowd backing them on Saturday night. It seems like over the years, anytime WVU has had these big-time primetime home games, they always find a way to lose. But this group could be different. In a weird way those early-season struggles may have benefitted them.
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Mountaineer Postgame Show: West Virginia 38, Oklahoma State 14
Oklahoma
Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma
Elite Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.
It happened in the Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela.
Social media posts how strikes ordered by President Trump into Venezuela and its military bases.
News 9 political analyst Scott Mitchell said the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America has not always been smooth and adds so many dominos will fall as a result.
“Venezuela is the beachhead for our adversaries that’s Cuba and Russia and China and Iran and it looks as if this latest situation where that they were assembling Iran swift attack boats that was sort of the last straw,” said Mitchell.
Retired war correspondent Mike Boettcher said the planning on capturing Maduro began in mid-December.
He adds Venezuela is a massive oil supplier whose oil has been taken off the market for years because of sanctions.
He has concerns about what comes next.
“That disrupts a lot of things.It even has an effect on the war in Ukraine, as Russia, you know, has used higher oil revenue because Venezuela’s oil was off the market.Oil prices went up.It helps fund the war in Ukraine,” said Boettcher.
The ramifications could even reach Oklahoma.
“China gets a 30 percent discount on the oil.If Venezuela goes for a more legitimate government and the sanctions are lifting, then they’re flooding the oil markets and that means bad news for the Oklahoma economy,” added Mitchell.
Following the capture of Maduro, President Trump said the U.S. will take control of the oil reserves in Venezuela.
Sources also say there are plans from the current administration to recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars in their oil industry.
A verified video shows the current state of Venezuela after the military operation.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal
Oklahoma State EDGE Kyran Duhon plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Duhon was a member of the 2024 recruiting class.
Duhon spent one year at Oklahoma State, logged 16 total tackles (eight solo) across nine games. He began his career at UTEP, where he had a productive true freshman season, Duhon finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, including seven sacks and two PBUs.
At UTEP, his one season there resulted in second team All-Conference USA honors. He was also named to the On3 True Freshman All-America Team as well as the the Conference USA All-Freshman team.
However, Duhon’s stay in Stillwater didn’t go as expected. Oklahoma State finished the season with a 1-11 record, which included the Cowboys firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start. Doug Meacham was named interim head coach but ended the year 0-9.
Eric Morris has since been named as the program’s next head coach. He comes from North Texas, which finished with an 11-2 record and a trip to the American Conference championship game this past season. However, it doesn’t appear that Duhon will be sticking around during the changing of the guard at Oklahoma State this offseason.
Before college, Duhon was the No. 1,706 overall player in the class, and was recruited as the the No. 165 linebacker during the cycle, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall player out of Texas.
Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.
Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor
A man in Oklahoma is facing a manslaughter charge after he allegedly shot a woman several blocks from his home while firing a gun he got himself for Christmas at an energy drink can in his back yard.
As told in court documents reviewed by NBC News, the death of Sandra Phelps at the hands of Cody Wayne Adams illustrates how deadly the consequences can be when those engaging in the US’s prevalent gun culture do so unsafely. Adams’s back yard was not equipped to stop bullets from leaving the property and striking unsuspecting people in the surrounding area, according to authorities.
Phelps was sitting under a covered porch with family on Christmas and holding a child in her arms when they heard gunshots north of the house, said an affidavit laying out the circumstances of Adams’s arrest.
“Sandra commented that someone got a new gun for Christmas and then shortly after Sandra said ‘ouch’ and collapsed,” the affidavit said. It said there were no more gunshots after that.
Emergency personnel were dispatched to Phelps’s address at about 3.15pm Thursday, the Stephens county sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“We later received a call stating an individual had just received a gun for Christmas and was target practicing in his backyard and that they believed it would be pointing in the direction of the scene,” the sheriff’s office statement added.
“Investigators went to the reported address and spoke with an individual [who] confirmed he was shooting a target in his back yard and that he had heard that someone has died from a gunshot wound a couple of roads over.”
That individual was Adams, 33, who showed deputies a Red Bull can in his back yard that he had been shooting with his handgun, according to the affidavit justifying his arrest.
Authorities allegedly concluded that the vantage point from where Adams was shooting aligned with the angle of the bullet that killed Phelps. They also determined the home lacked a suitable shooting backstop meant to protect those in the surrounding area from being struck by stray bullets.
“Adams became visibly upset and began to cry” when he learned of Phelps, the affidavit added. He was arrested on a count of first-degree manslaughter and later released on a $100,000 bond.
In the US, unintentional deaths from firearms are a small percentage of gun deaths in the country. But they occur four times more often in the US than in comparable countries – and most involve a handgun.
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