Oklahoma at West Virginia

Skyler Howard threw for two TDs and ran for two more scores. He does it his way and he doesn’t give a you-know-what about what anybody thinks about it. Also, the front seven does okay against running backs, allowing only 156 yards a game which is 51st in the country. But with a sudden shortage of undefeated and one-loss teams, the victor of Saturday’s Big 12 showdown in West Virginia between the No. 8 Sooners and No. 9 Mountaineers could vault itself into the CFP conversation while gaining the inside track to the conference title.

WVU’s veterans have not forgotten the Sooners’ last trip to Milan Puskar Stadium.

“They didn’t have the start they wanted, but over the last six games what they’ve done is really impressive”. “Hopefully it will help our kids but it won’t affect OU at all”.

West Virginia: Plays at Iowa State next Saturday, followed by the regular-season finale at home against Baylor. TCU is coming off an open date after a 40-point win at Baylor. “The next one is a big one”. At 5-1 in conference play, the Mountaineers trail Oklahoma by a game-and-a-half, but this is their chance to grab the tiebreaker. But Middle Tennessee has imploded by committing a total of eight turnovers in the two games since quarterback Brent Stockstill sustained a season-ending broken collarbone.

Holgorsen said Oklahoma presents many challenges on offense. OU has both teams just behind it left to play.

Earlier this season, Lyons took the same stance. “It’s an important game because it’s the next game for us”.

Mixon enters the week second in the Big 12 in rushing with 937 yards.

Mayfield, who first faced the Mountaineers during his freshman season at Texas Tech, has completed 213-of-296 passes for 3,212 yards and 33 touchdowns with only seven interceptions with the majority of those going to Westbrook, who leads the conference in receptions per game (6.8), receiving yards per game (125.4) and touchdowns (14).

Asked if he’s changed his coaching style since he’s been at WVU, Holgorsen answered philosophically. “This whole season, I’ve looked at how I need to get better and everything stays the same, regardless of whether it is here, Texas or on the practice field”. Justin Arndt has led the West Virginia defense with 58 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks, while Rasul Douglas has added 50 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 6 interceptions. If the Mountaineers win out and OU beats Oklahoma State on December 3, West Virginia would be the Big 12 champion based on a head-to-head win over OU. But don’t rule out that possibility because last week proved it can happen.

The West Virginia defense can give up some yardage on occasions but batten-down the hatches in the red zone. In that game, TCU executed the flawless balanced offense they’ve been trying to preach throughout this hard season. Holgorsen would rather call 70 run plays to control the game with a hard-nosed, tough-guy approach. “The state of West Virginia is blue collar and we sort of develop that mentality”.

WVU’s defense has done a good job stopping the run. West Virginia can take the title if it wins its final three games and if No. 13 Oklahoma State loses one of its final two games. “As of right now I can’t say which we would do but we’ll get something done”. “The No. 1 thing is guys are having more fun doing it. Guys are wanting to get back out there each and every Saturday and wanting to get to practice on Monday to get better and to keep it going”. “We will know more about them at practice today (Tuesday)”.