The Cowboys need a win in the worst way, and they’ve had the Mountaineers’ number over the years.

Oklahoma State hosts West Virginia in Stillwater this weekend after the Cowboys’ 0-2 start to Big 12 play. The Cowboys are, though, 9-3 against WVU since the Mountaineers joined the conference. Here is a preview of Saturday’s game.

Viewing Info

Time: 3 p.m. Saturday
Location: Boone Pickens Stadium
Watch: ESPN2 (Mike Monaco, Kirk Morrison and Dawn Davenport)

Betting Info (via BetMGM)

Spread: OSU -3.5
Over/under: 65.5
Oklahoma State money line: -110

Team Stats

Statistical Leaders

Passing:
OSU — Alan Bowman — 117-for-195 (60%)/1,537 yards/11 touchdowns/6 interceptions
WVU — Garrett Greene — 63-for-111 (57%)/902 yards/7 touchdowns/4 interceptions

Rushing:
OSU — Ollie Gordon — 88 carries/334 yards/4 touchdowns
WVU — CJ Donaldson — 51 carries/284 yards/3 touchdown

Receiving:
OSU — De’Zhaun Stribling — 27 catches/502 yards/3 touchdowns
WVU — Hudson Clement — 14 catches/231 yards/1 touchdown

Tackling:
OSU — Trey Rucker — 63 total tackles
WVU — Anthony Wilson — 29 total tackles

Sacks:
OSU — Obi Ezeigbo and Kendal Daniels — 2 sacks each
WVU — T.J. Jackson — 3.5 sacks

Series History (OSU Leads 10-5)

The Oklahoma Senate’s budget chairman had a terse message for state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters on Thursday: Show him the money.

Sen. Chuck Hall, a Republican from Perry, made the point in a brief letter to Walters just one day after Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a “letter of counsel“ to Walters regarding the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s yearlong delay in purchasing emergency asthma inhalers for public schools.

In his letter, Drummond told Walters and Education Department officials to act quickly to make sure public school students have access to the inhalers. “Waiting more than a year to ask for guidance, changing procurement methods multiple times and now requiring school districts to individually procure emergency inhalers is neither speedy or responsible,” Drummond wrote.

Hall cited Drummond’s message, as well as the numerous attempts by lawmakers to get the agency to buy the inhalers. Hall wrote that Walters had “a clear opportunity and pathway to do the right thing that will benefit everyone.” He added that “there is now no excuse to not execute the delivery of these funds as expeditiously as possible.”

The Legislature funded the inhalers for every Oklahoma school district through a law passed in 2023, but Education Department officials have not spent the money.

‘I continue to be disappointed in the lack of action’

Hall also took issue with agency spokesman Dan Isett’s statement to The Oklahoman on Wednesday which said the “OSDE has been distributing funds for inhalers for the past two years.”

“My concern is the timeline of this statement,” Hall wrote. “The law to provide the $250,000 for the program only took effect last year. If this statement is accurate, I would also appreciate information on the vendor you used to distribute the inhalers.”

Hall said he believed a single supplier, the Brendon McLarty Memorial Foundation, was the lone entity in the state that could distribute inhalers to schools and train administrators and teachers on proper inhaler use.

More: Oklahoma attorney general criticizes Ryan Walters, OSDE over delayed inhaler purchase

“I have been in communication with the foundation after reading your spokesman’s statement, and they said they are unaware of OSDE distributing any funding for school inhalers,” Hall said.

For several years now, lawmakers have been trying to ensure emergency asthma inhalers are in schools.

In 2019, lawmakers passed legislation that allowed the state to partner with the McLarty Foundation to buy emergency asthma inhalers. That measure, Senate Bill 381, authorized schools to stock emergency albuterol inhalers in the event that a child goes into respiratory distress and required at least two staff members at the school be trained on how to use the inhalers.

In 2023, lawmakers, again partnered with the McLarty Foundation to develop and pass legislation that earmarked $250,000 to buy albuterol inhalers and spacers for all Oklahoma school districts.

While Hall told Walters he respected his diligence in asking for guidance, he said he was disappointed by the yearlong delay in processing the funds.

“I continue to be disappointed in the lack of action as this money has been available for over a year,” he wrote. “Please end the delays and distribute this funding immediately.”

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers.

During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more.

In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide.

John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools.

Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national “Beat Writer of the Year” from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma’s “Best Sports Column” from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two “Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting” Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK.

Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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