West Virginia entered Saturday’s game at Oklahoma still alive in the Big 12 championship race. The No. 17 Sooners quickly showed that the Mountaineers aren’t ready for that level yet.
WVU coach Neal Brown said the team’s goal this November is to compete for a Big 12 championship. Oklahoma put a definitive stop to that, showing the plucky Mountaineers what an actual conference championship contender looks like.
The evening started well for WVU as the Mountaineers scored an opening-drive touchdown for the third game in a row to go up 7-0 early, but the Sooners weren’t down for long. OU responded with a quick two-and-a-half-minute touchdown drive to tie the game.
Oklahoma then got a stop and scored again in just three minutes to take a lead that WVU would never threaten. All told, the Sooners scored on their first five drives to build a 31-14 halftime lead.
As soon as Oklahoma took the lead, it was clear that West Virginia was outclassed. The Mountaineers’ offense withered and even a botched fumble recovery in OU territory couldn’t produce points.
OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel missed a couple of throws early but rebounded to put forth a stellar performance that included eight total touchdowns. WVU quarterback Garrett Greene suffered through a cold spell that really hurt the Mountaineers’ offense. Greene missed six straight throws as WVU punted three times, missed a field goal and turned the ball over on downs twice before finding the endzone again.
WVU threw the first punch, but couldn’t handle Oklahoma’s counter. A championship offense cannot go cold in the middle of a game, especially as the opponent is scoring at will.
And that was the biggest difference between the teams on Saturday. To win, West Virginia needed to scratch and claw and take full advantage of every opportunity it had. In contrast, Oklahoma simply created its own opportunities.
Following the opening-drive touchdown, there were very few positives for the Mountaineers to take away from their final trip to Norman. The offense was only successful in spurts and the defense offered no resistance all night.
WVU has made clear improvement this season, but Saturday proved the Mountaineers are still a level below the actual Big 12 contenders — Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.
The Mountaineers have victories over the bottom and middle of the conference this year but their games against the Sooners, a 59-20 loss, and Cowboys, a 48-34 defeat, show they aren’t at the point yet to truly compete for a league title.
With two games left in the season, Oklahoma will continue to push for a Big 12 championship appearance along with the Longhorns, Cowboys and Wildcats. West Virginia, meanwhile, will have to be content trying to improve its resume for a better bowl game and leave the championship aspirations for next year.
