If they offered betting odds on the first coach to be fired entering the season, West Virginia’s Neal Brown surely would have been an overwhelming favorite. Instead, he quickly cooled his seat and has the Mountaineers off to a 4-2 start.
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A win on Saturday will cash the West Virginia season win total over a week before Halloween.
Oklahoma State is also 4-2 this season and coming off back-to-back wins over Kansas State and Kansas. Everybody expects Texas and Oklahoma to meet again in the Big 12 title game, but both of these teams have just one conference loss and are right in the race to play in the championship game.
This game likely won’t garner many headlines, but it’s a sneaky good game in the Big 12.
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After playing music chairs at quarterback for the first three weeks, it seems the Cowboys have finally settled on veteran Alan Bowman. They rotated quarterbacks early in the season, but Bowman has taken all the snaps over the last three weeks.
Bowman is in his sixth season in college football after three years at Texas Tech, two years at Michigan and 32 games under his belt.
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Experience might be his best asset, though. Bowman is completing just 56.8% of his passes this year with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Cowboys rank 93rd in the country in Passing Success Rate, but they do rank 45th in Rushing Success.
Last year’s backup, Ollie Gordon II, has stepped up as the lead back and is averaging more than six yards per carry. Oklahoma State has really made him the focal point of the offense, as he has rushed for over 120 yards in each of the last three games. He’s the key for this unit.
And stopping the run will be the key for defense. That has been a strength for this team from a Success Rate standpoint, as it ranks 35th nationally against the run. The only problem is it ranks 127th at defending explosiveness.
Oklahoma State has been burned by a ton of big plays both on the ground and through the air. We saw Kansas State and Kansas each post seven explosive plays against the Pokes over the last two weeks.
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Turnovers really saved the Cowboys, as they forced five interceptions in the last two weeks. That’s helped them overcome allowing 5.2 yards per play to Kansas State and 7.9 yards per play to Kansas without its starting quarterback.
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West Virginia Mountaineers
Similar to Oklahoma State, the Mountaineers’ strength has been running the ball. West Virginia ranks fifth in the country in rushing rate, leaning on a strong ground game. CJ Donaldson has been the lead back, averaging 69 yards per game with five scores.
He’s joined in the backfield by true freshman Jahiem White and sophomore Jaylen Anderson. White has provided the explosive spark this offense needs, averaging 7.4 yards per carry with six runs of at least 10 yards on just 25 carries.
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Quarterback Garrett Greene is also dangerous with his legs, adding 46.2 yards per game on the ground with five rushing scores. He’s coming off his best game of the season in that heartbreaking loss to Houston, throwing for 391 yards and two touchdowns while adding two rushing scores as well.
The biggest surprise is how good this West Virginia defense has been. This unit ranks 23rd in the country in Success Rate. The Mountaineers have been solid in both areas but are especially dominant against the pass, ranking fourth in the nation.
Cornerback Beanie Bishop has been their best defender this year, ranking second on the team in tackles while serving as a lockdown cornerback. He has two interceptions and leads the Big 12 with nine passes defended.
Oklahoma State vs West Virginia
Matchup Analysis
Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Oklahoma State and West Virginia match up statistically:
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Oklahoma State Offense vs. West Virginia Defense
Rush Success
45
56
Line Yards
84
54
Pass Success
94
47
Havoc
17
21
Finishing Drives
71
75
Quality Drives
57
51
West Virginia Offense vs. Oklahoma State Defense
Rush Success
72
37
Line Yards
75
48
Pass Success
66
114
Havoc
14
94
Finishing Drives
66
115
Quality Drives
74
55
Pace of Play / Other
PFF Tackling
77
72
PFF Coverage
92
118
Special Teams SP+
36
39
Middle 8
68
37
Seconds per Play
24.6 (23)
28.7 (99)
Rush Rate
44.6% (117)
64.1% (5)
Oklahoma State vs West Virginia
Betting Pick & Prediction
This game is between two similar teams that run the ball well and play strong defense. West Virginia just does both of them better than Oklahoma State does.
Greene and Donaldson have been terrific running the RPO this season, and this backfield should be able to break off chunk plays against an Oklahoma State defense that ranks 92nd in the country in tackling and gives up a ton of big plays.
The one area West Virginia has struggled in is preventing explosiveness through the air, but that’s not an area Oklahoma State can attack. The Pokes rank 109th nationally in passing explosiveness and lack weapons on the outside.
Plus, Bowman has more turnover-worthy plays than big-time throws this season and has really struggled.
West Virginia is sixth in the country in creating Havoc and should put pressure on Bowman and slow down the Cowboys’ rushing attack.
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Oklahoma State struggles to prevent Finishing Drives as well, and I expect the Mountaineers to bounce back from that tough loss and pull away from the Pokes here.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to federal probation after fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief funding while living in Mason County.
Scott Christie, 38, of Petrolia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to four years of federal probation for theft of public money, property, or records.
Christie fraudulently obtained $24,388 in unemployment benefits and COVID supplementary funds while living in Leon.
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Christie obtained funds in a fraudulent manor on two separate occasions. Between both February 29, 2020, to August 22, 2020, and between February 27, 2021, to August 14, 2021, Christie fraudulently applied for unemployment benefits through WorkForce America. During these periods, Christie submitted 50 total weekly certifications without disclosing his employment. Christie received 52 unemployment benefits.
Christie has been ordered to pay $24,228 in restitution.
After 12 years as West Virginia’s Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey was sworn in Monday morning as the state’s 37th governor.
“Together, we’re going to make West Virginia a beacon of opportunity, of hope and prosperity for all,” Morrisey said. “Our path forward is clear. It’s a path paved with hard work and bold action. Now we have some big challenges and economic obstacles in front of us, but we will overcome them.”
Morrisey in the Attorney General’s office.
The inauguration also instated new Intermediate and Supreme Court of Appeals judges and five other members of the Board of Public Works, the state’s governing body.
The past three governors attended the inauguration. Those included Joe Manchin, who recently left the U.S. Senate as an Independent, Earl Ray Tomblin, who stopped into Manchin’s governor’s office, and Jim Justice, who will assume Manchin’s U.S. Senate seat as a Republican.
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Morrisey is the first governor to be initially sworn in as a Republican since 1997. Justice switched parties his first year in office.
In his inauguration speech, Morrisey laid out plans to cut state taxes, reduce government regulation, support the HOPE school choice scholarship and public school teachers, improve the state’s foster care system and oppose diversity equity and inclusion initiatives.
Morrisey likened his plans for economic growth to a “backyard brawl” — a hallmark of his campaign, referring to making West Virginia more enticing to new residents and businesses than neighboring states. Today, Morrisey specifically referenced making the state personal income tax lower than surrounding states and public teacher pay competitive.
“It’s about unleashing the full potential of our people and engaging in spirited competition every day, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky,” Morrisey said. “We’re coming for you economically.”
Morrisey also said his administration is “launching West Virginia’s version of DOGE,” referring to President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed extra-governmental Department of Government Efficiency. During Morrisey’s campaign, he pointed to audits of state agencies and departments as key to finding policy solutions; during his transition, Morrisey emphasized continuing to focus on “repurposing and rightsizing” government.
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“We’re going to take a bulldozer to the barriers of government that hold you back,” Morrisey said. “We’re going to get big, big things done.”
Before leaving office, Justice signed onto a Jan. 10 letter to Congress from Republican governors in support of the federal DOGE. Morrisey said he also aims to partner with the incoming presidential administration on energy policy and deregulation.
“If ever there was an honorary West Virginian, it should be Donald Trump,” Morrisey said.
After the state gubernatorial Republican primary last spring, which Morrisey won with a plurality of 33.33% of votes, Trump endorsed Morrisey. Morrisey won the general election with 61.99% of votes; Trump won West Virginia’s electoral college votes with 69.98% of votes. Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20.
West Virginiahead coach Rich Rodriguez is far from being done in the transfer portal, but with nearly two dozen pickups thus far, I figured we could start taking a closer look at the stars of the group.
We will revisit this before spring practice and then prior to the start of fall camp, as more players will be added, so we’ll adjust the list. For now, here are the five transfers who I believe will make the biggest impact.
Jahiem White is clearly RB1, but in this day and age, you need two or three capable running backs, especially in a Rich Rodriguez offense. Edwards brings a different dynamic to the table with his 6-foot-4, 240-pound frame. He can hammer it in between the tackles to give WVU a nice lightning-and-thunder combo, similar to what they had with White and CJ Donaldson. He rushed for over 1,000 yards and six scores this season.
Perry brings a level of physicality that has been pretty much non-existent in the Mountaineer secondary over the last handful of years. He does have some versatility to him as well, being able to play deep safety, up in the box, and even in the slot if needed. Assuming he makes the transition to the Power Four level smoothly, he’ll have a chance to play on Sundays.
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West Virginia’s wide receiver room underwent a near-complete makeover, but with the addition of Cam Vaughn, they have a dynamic playmaker they can build with for the next three seasons. In his redshirt freshman season at Jax State, Vaughn caught 48 passes for 803 yards and five touchdowns. Not too shabby for someone who just made the switch from quarterback a year ago.
After losing Josiah Trotter (Missouri) and Trey Lathan (Kansas) to the transfer portal, the Mountaineers desperately needed to add a veteran linebacker who could come right in and make a difference. Over his last two seasons at Colorado State, Wilson tallied 205 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, seven passes defended, 3.5 sacks, and two picks. A tough, hard-nosed kid who fits this defense like a glove.
West Virginia beat out Ole Miss to land one of the best cover corners in the transfer portal in Michael Coats Jr. This past season with the Wolfpack, he notched 41 tackles, 14 passes defended, and four interceptions, finishing in the top five nationally in the last two categories. Barring some crazy get in the portal, I expect Coats to be the top acquisition out of the portal this offseason for the Mountaineers.
QB Jaylen Henderson (Texas A&M), RB Tye Edwards (Northern Iowa), RB LJ Turner (Catawba College), WR Cyrus Traugh (Youngstown State), WR Cam Vaughn (Jacksonville State), WR Daveon Walker (Butler C.C.), WR Jarod Bowie (Jacksonville State), WR Oran Singleton Jr. (Eastern Michigan), TE Jacob Barrick (Jacksonville State), TE Johnny Pascuzzi (Iowa), OL Walter Young Bear (Tulsa), OL Robby Martin (NC State), OL Wyatt Minor (Youngstown State), OL Kimo Makane’ole (LSU), DE Braden Siders (Wyoming), LB Chase Wilson (Colorado State), LB Ashton Woods (North Carolina), CB Derek Carter (Jacksonville State), CB Jordan Scruggs (South Alabama), CB Devonte Golden-Nelson (Akron), CB Michael Coats Jr. (Nevada), S Justin Harrington (Washington), S Will Davis (Virginia Union), S Fred Perry (Jacksonville State), S Jordan Walker (Chattanooga), and K Ethan Head (Tulane).
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