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.