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

E-News | Downtown Dash planned Dec. 13

Published

3 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Join the Main Street Morgantown family-friendly holiday shopping event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 13) in Downtown Morgantown.

The event will feature a district-wide scavenger hunt for a chance to win prizes and the opportunity to explore holiday pop-up markets by Hoot and Howl, The Co-Op and Apothecary Ale House.

While exploring downtown shops, participants who spot DASH the Dog can collect stamps. Each stamp brings participants closer to the chance of winning prizes from downtown merchants such as gift cards and goods. To qualify for prizes, completed Downtown Dash Guides with five or more stamps must be turned into Hoot and Howl, The Co-Op, Apothecary Ale House or at Breezeline’s play-to-win tent on Courthouse Square.

As a break from shopping, parents and their little ones can visit Kids Craft, Cookies & Cocoa Central at the WARD Building to enjoy a complimentary hot cocoa and cookie bar and children’s crafts provided by Hotel Morgan sponsored by Main Street Morgantown and Breezeline.

Visitors can also visit the beautiful 25-foot-tall holiday tree on display at Courthouse Square, a collaboration between the City of Morgantown, Monongalia County and Main Street Morgantown.

Sponsored by Breezeline, the Downtown Dash celebrates the holiday season, promotes walking and shopping throughout the downtown district, and supports local businesses by driving foot traffic directly to storefronts.

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West Virginia

West Virginia First Foundation lauds Wheeling police for crisis intervention success

Published

15 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

West Virginia First Foundation lauds Wheeling police for crisis intervention success

WHEELING, W.Va. — The West Virginia First Foundation visited the Wheeling Police Department to commend its efforts in addressing the area’s mental health and opioid crisis.

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger presented to the WVFF board, highlighting the department’s progress.

Schwertfeger attributed a 14% decrease in Group A crimes from 2024 to 2025 to the department’s crisis intervention program.

“Just another great partnership,” he said. “More collaboration in this area that we are very proud of and we want to keep the momentum going,.”

WVFF Executive Director Jonathan Board praised the program’s success.

“This in particular, the CIT program, that isn’t just in the ether, but is showing success – actual scientific success about de-escalation, about bringing together services providers and to boots on the ground and first responders, this is vitally important to not only this region but the entire state,” Board said.

The visit was part of WVFF’s ‘Hold the Line’ tour across the state.

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West Virginia

Where West Virginia’s Decommits in the 2026 Recruiting Class Signed & What Happened

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Where West Virginia’s Decommits in the 2026 Recruiting Class Signed & What Happened

Now that you know about West Virginia’s 2026 recruiting class, I figured it’d be a good time to give a little insight into those who were once committed to the Mountaineers and landed elsewhere.

What happened, and where did they go?

QB Brodie McWhorter (Mississippi State)

McWhorter committed to Neal Brown and his coaching staff, but reopened his recruitment when the coaching change was made. Rich Rodriguez did recruit him at the beginning, holding several conversations with him before backing off and pursuing Jyron Hughley and Legend Bey. Hughley committed, Bey committed to Ohio State (signed with Tennessee), while WVU added two more quarterbacks in Wyatt Brown and John Johnson III.

RB Jett Walker (Texas)

Walker fit the bill for what Rodriguez wanted in the backfield. A big, physical presence who could absorb contact and hammer it in between the tackles. With multiple backs committed and feeling good about a few others, WVU didn’t feel pressed to hold onto him. Walker flipped to Minnesota and then flipped to Texas just three weeks later

WR Jeffar Jean-Noel (Georgia Tech)

Jean-Noel was the second recruit to commit to Rodriguez in the 2026 class, but reopened his recruitment in mid-April. He then considered Purdue, Pitt, Kentucky, UCF, and Florida State before landing at Georgia Tech.

OL Justyn Lyles (Marshall)

The Mountaineers had a number of offensive line commits, and with the late additions of Kevin Brown and Aidan Woods, and their chances of securing Jonas Muya, Lyles took a visit to Marshall and flipped his commitment.

LB Caleb Gordon (North Carolina)

Gordon’s commitment to WVU was very brief. As a matter of fact, it was the shortest of the bunch, announcing his pledge on November 24th and then flipping to NC State on the first day of the early signing period (December 3rd).

LB Daiveon Taylor (Kent State)

Taylor was the first commit in the class; however, it was so early that he was committed to Neal Brown’s staff, announcing his decision in April of 2024. He backed off that pledge the very day Brown was fired (December 1st) and eventually signed with Kent State.

CB Emari Peterson (unsigned)

Peterson decommitted from WVU just days before signing day, likely due to the Mountaineers zeroing in on a pair of JUCO corners in Rayshawn Reynolds and Da’Mun Allen. He will sign in February and currently has offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Liberty, LSU, South Florida, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Toledo, Wake Forest, and a few others.

S Aaron Edwards (committed to Tulsa)

West Virginia chose to part ways with Edwards and ultimately replaced his spot with fellow JUCO safety Da’Mare Williams.

S Jaylon Jones (undecided)

Jones decommitted in late October and did not sign during the early signing period. He will likely choose between Central Michigan, Hawai’i, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, and Texas State.

S Taj Powell (Louisville)

Taj is the brother of former Mountaineer basketball guard Jonathan Powell, who is now at North Carolina. He decommitted the day after West Virginia lost to Ohio and flipped to Louisville that same day.