West Virginia

Oklahoma State football grades vs West Virginia: Cowboys fail nearly across board in loss

Published

1 year ago

October 6, 2024

Oklahoma State football grades vs West Virginia: Cowboys fail nearly across board in loss

STILLWATER — A pass/fail scale would be the most efficient way to grade Oklahoma State’s 38-14 loss to West Virginia on Saturday.

A failure on all accounts.

But we’ll stick with our weekly letter grades. Let’s get to them.

More: Oklahoma State football no-shows vs. West Virginia. How did Cowboys hit rock bottom?

Oklahoma State third-down defense: D

On third-and-8 from OSU’s 8-yard line, West Virginia backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol zipped a pass to receiver Traylon Ray for the Mountaineers’ first touchdown of the day.

Marchiol was in for the injured Garrett Greene, who later returned, but OSU was unable to stop West Virginia on third down no matter who was quarterbacking.

The Mountaineers converted 9 of 15 (60%) third-down attempts. WVU had a 33% conversion rate on the season, which ranked 113th nationally.

Facing the Cowboys’ defense is a surefire way for opposing offenses to boost their numbers.

More: As Alan Bowman continues to struggle, will Oklahoma State football make a QB switch?

OSU run defense: F

The Cowboys have to fit their gaps against the run. Mike Gundy said it after the K-State loss last weekend. He said it again Saturday.

Whether it’s an issue of scheme, talent, effort or all the above, OSU’s terrible run defense has persisted.

West Virginia gashed OSU for 389 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

WVU had 162 more rushing yards than OSU had total yards. The Mountaineers averaged 6.0 yards per rushing attempt.

Sophomore running back Jahiem White had a game-high 158 rushing yards. Greene rushed for 86 yards, including the 39-yard run on which he got hurt.

Greene and Marchiol combined to throw 16 passes. Why pass when you can run at will?

More: Oklahoma State football suffers disastrous loss to West Virginia | 5 takeaways

Controlling the clock: F

If this was “ceding control of the clock” the Cowboys would have received an A+.

West Virginia had the ball for 43 minutes to OSU’s 17 minutes.

Combine the Mountaineers’ run game with OSU’s offensive ineptitude and you get this kind of discrepancy.

Alan Bowman: D

Bowman has faced an undue amount of blame in this trainwreck of a season, but any criticism that came his way Saturday was justified.

Bowman was bad.

He completed just north of 50% of his passes and his two interceptions were ugly.

Backup Garrett Rangel played well in relief, completing 4 of 5 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.

Who will quarterback the Cowboys coming out of their bye week? Fair question to ask given Bowman’s struggles.

Ollie Gordon II: C-

The numbers were whatever: 13 carries for 50 yards, an average of 3.8 yards per tote.

But Gordon, perhaps more so than any of his teammates, allows his emotions to take him out of games.

It’s been a frustrating season for the Cowboys, for Gordon especially, but you can’t throw tantrums.

A staffer had to run alongside Gordon, who was visibly upset, all the way to the locker room at halftime.

More: ESPN analyst says Ollie Gordon II ‘may have to start thinking about himself’ amid OSU woes

Jeff Roberson: A

Tough spot for Roberson, who slid over to middle linebacker in the wake of Nick Martin’s injury. Replacing a superstar like Martin is impossible, but Roberson stepped up and played a heck of a game.

He had a team-high 12 tackles. His previous career high was five.

Roberson had two tackles for a loss, including a sack.

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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West Virginia

Final Score Predictions for West Virginia vs. Cincinnati

Published

7 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Final Score Predictions for West Virginia vs. Cincinnati

Every game is extremely important from here on out for West Virginia, but tonight’s matchup with Cincinnati is one they cannot afford to drop. The Bearcats are one of the weaker teams in the league, and with Kansas on deck, it’s one Ross Hodge and Co. have to get.

Do they get the job done? Here are our picks for tonight’s contest.

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 64, Cincinnati 59

With or without Brenen Lorient (concussion protocol), I believe West Virginia is the better team, especially at home. Sure, they looked overwhelmed last Friday in Ames against Iowa State, but they won’t be the last team that gets the belt to the backside from the Cyclones.

The one area that has been problematic this season defensively for the Mountaineers has been on the perimeter. We saw Milan Momcilovic knock down eight triples on just eight attempts a handful of days ago. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great shooter and made some highly contested shots, but it’s been a recurring issue for WVU all year.

The good news? Cincinnati isn’t built to beat you shooting from range. Coming into this game, they ranked 263rd nationally in three-point shooting, hitting just 31.6% of their shots. Couple that with the fact that Cincinnati is somehow a worse free-throw shooting team than West Virginia by a full five percentage points, and you get a fairly confident pick from me in the Old Gold and Blue.

Christopher Hall: West Virginia 67, Cincinnati 66

West Virginia has remained perfect inside Hope Coliseum, and the unblemished home record will likely be intact when the Mountaineers host Kansas on Saturday.

West Virginia has struggled and is enduring a five-game losing streak against Power Four opponents after falling to Iowa State to open the Big 12 Conference. Although the Mountaineers did notch a win against Pitt at home, for the lone win against P4 competition.

Cincinnati is in a similar situation, although the Bearcats’ start to the season can be summed up in a 64-56 loss to Eastern Michigan. The absence of senior guard Jizzle James for the first ten games for personal reasons, coupled with Brazilian perimeter shooter Lucas Atauri and returning forward Jalen Haynes absent from the line up have caused early issues.

The Bearcats proved they could compete with one of the best teams in the country after a seven-point loss to Houston on Saturday.

West Virginia will need to tighten up its perimeter defense against James and Day Day Thomas – both are shooting over 40% from three, while WVU senior guard Honor Huff will have to work a little harder to find his spot from deep against one of the best three-point defenses in the league.

The game will be a defensive battle, which favors the Mountaineers at home. WVU may be without senior starting forward Brenen Lorient, but the comfy confines of the Coliseum and the crowd will lift the Mountaineers down the stretch for the 67-66 win.

West Virginia

Transfer portal: Former Oklahoma QB Michael Hawkins headed to West Virginia

Published

19 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Transfer portal: Former Oklahoma QB Michael Hawkins headed to West Virginia

Former Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. has committed to West Virginia, ESPN reported.

Hawkins and his brother Maliek Hawkins, a cornerback, are both expected to play for Rich Rodriguez in Morgantown next season.

Hawkins played in nine games across two seasons for the Sooners. He threw for 950 yards and nine touchdowns. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Maliek Hawkins has four seasons of eligibility left. He had previously been a top recruit himself.

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West Virginia

Mountaineer Heritage Season offers a chance to hunt like our ancestors – WV MetroNews

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Mountaineer Heritage Season offers a chance to hunt like our ancestors – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — This week, West Virginia hunters will get a chance to try hunting the way the original Mountaineers did it. The Mountaineer Heritage season is open from Thursday through Sunday.

The season allows hunters to use only primitive implements. Sidelock or flintlock muzzleloading rifles or pistols are the only firearms allowed. In-line muzzleloaders are not legal for the Heritage Season nor are scopes. Archery enthusiasts are allowed only long bows or recurve bows. You’re compound bow will have to hang on its hook for this time.

“It’s a special season and it’s kind of an all encompassing big game season,” said Vinnie Johnson, Biologist with the West Virginia DNR.

The season enables hunters to kill a deer, bear, or turkey provided they hunt with one of those primitive firearms or bows. The season started several years ago and has become a big hit with sportsmen for a variety of reasons. For some it cuts the monotony of cabin fever and gives them a chance to get back into the woods well after hunting season. The season also enables hunters to go after big game with snow on the ground which doesn’t always happen during the regular fall seasons.

The snowfall could potentially make killing a bear less likely, but not always.

“It really depends on where you’re at,” Johnson explained in a recent edition of West Virginia Outdoors. “Some of our areas that are heavy bear country, there’s still a good opportunity you’re going to see a bear.”

The bumper crops of mast across the West Virginia landscape this year will also keep bears out of hibernation longer. The sunshine and warm weather forecasted into the weekend may also be a plus for keeping bears active and moving in the upcoming season.

“If there’s food on the landscape, they’re gong to be out moving around. They go into their dens when there’s no food left and they need to reserve for the remainder of the winter season,” he added.

Killing a big buck may be tricky. Some have already started to drop antlers. The season allows for either sex, but for those who have already killed two bucks from this past fall’s hunting seasons, you cannot kill another buck. If a hunter shoots an antlerless buck, which turns out to be a buck that already dropped antlers, hunters can check that as an antlerless deer.

Turkeys are also legal. Unlike deer, turkeys and bears, do not count against the bag limit from last year. However, hunters to need to have their 2026 hunting license. Although a lot of the purists like to not only hunt with an old time rifle, they also like to dress the part and will go into the woods wearing buckskins. Primitive garb or not, modern safety is still the rule and since it’s a firearms season for deer, you’ll need to wear blaze orange.

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