Game Notes: OSU Visits West Virginia to Take On Mountaineers

Saturday, October 28

Morgantown, WV

11 a.m. CT

Oklahoma State University

West Virginia

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Game Notes: OSU Visits West Virginia to Take On Mountaineers

October 23, 2017 | Cowboy Football

Complete notes in PDF format

The Basics
The No. 11/12 Oklahoma State football team (6-1 overall; 3-1 Big 12) travels to Morgantown, West Virginia for a matchup with No. 22/22 West Virginia (5-2 overall; 3-1 Big 12) at 11 a.m. CT Saturday in Milan Puskar Stadium.

On the Air
The game will be televised by ABC with Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe on the call. The contest will also be carried live on the Cowboy Radio Network, with Dave Hunziker handling play-by-play, John Holcomb providing analysis and Robert Allen reporting from the sideline. Fans outside of the Cowboy Radio Network can listen to the OSU broadcast for free through TuneIn Radio or the TuneIn Radio app. The game will also feature a national radio broadcast by Westwood One Sports with Ryan Radtke and Al Groh.

In the Rankings
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the Amway Coaches Poll. The Cowboys have been ranked in the top 15 of both polls since week 12 of the 2016 season. Including this season, OSU has reached the top 15 of the A.P. poll at some point in nine of the past 10 seasons and the top 10 of the A.P. poll in eight of the last 10 seasons. This week's game against West Virginia marks the 91st time in the Cowboys' last 122 games that OSU has been ranked by the A.P. entering a game. West Virginia enters the game ranked No. 22 in both the AP and coaches polls. Although the first College Football Playoff rankings of 2017 won't be released until October 31, it is worth noting that the Cowboys are one of only seven teams to be ranked in every set of CFP rankings since the beginning of 2015, joining Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State and Utah.

The Series
Saturday's game marks the ninth contest between the Cowboys and the Mountaineers all-time and the sixth consecutive year the teams have met since WVU joined the Big 12 in 2012. The series is an even split at for wins apiece, with OSU claiming the past two meetings. West Virginia holds a 2-1 advantage in Morgantown, but OSU's last visit to Milan Puskar Stadium in 2015 ended with a 33-26 overtime win for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State won last year's meeting in Stillwater, 37-20, to improve Mike Gundy's record against WVU to 3-2. Dana Holgorsen was at the helm for each of those games, and thus holds a 2-3 record against the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State From a Distance
Oklahoma State is 6-1 on the year and enters Saturday's game fresh off a 13-10 overtime win at Texas last week. OSU has the nation's best offense at 584.6 yards per game, but it was the Cowboy defense that won the game against the Longhorns. The OSU defense held Texas to 42 yards rushing with a 1.3 yards per carry average and to just 3-of-17 on third down conversions. The Longhorns' 10 points were their lowest total of the season and eight of their 14 drives ended with a three-and-out. On top of all that, it was a Ramon Richards interception in the end zone on the game's final play that sealed the win for OSU. For most of the season, however, it has been the Cowboy offense that has generated the headlines. Heisman candidate QB Mason Rudolph leads the nation in passing yards and passing yards per game and is among the national leaders in every important passing statistic. He's thrown for more than 300 yards in seven of his last eight games and just tied Mike Gundy for the OSU wins record as a starting QB. Rudolph's top target James Washington leads the nation with 130.6 receiving yards per game and he and Marcell Ateman have hit the 100-yard mark in four of their last five games. On top of that, running back Justice Hill is the Big 12's leading rusher with 750 yards and has hit 100 yards in four straight games.

West Virginia From a Distance
West Virginia enters the game at 5-2 on the year and is ranked 22nd in both major polls. The Mountaineers are tied with the Cowboys in the Big 12 standings with a 3-1 conference record, and their only losses this season were decided by one possession at the hands of then-No. 8 TCU and then-No. 21 Virginia Tech. WVU has won back-to-back games, including a 46-35 win over Texas Tech in which WVU trailed by 18 points and a 38-36 win last week over Baylor in which WVU led by 25 points. Quarterback Will Grier threw five touchdown passes in both of those games and has topped 300 yards passing six times this season. Grier leads the nation with 26 passing touchdowns this season and wide receiver David Sills is the FBS leader with 15 receiving touchdowns. Oklahoma State is the fourth ranked opponent West Virginia has faced this season.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...
• Give it three straight wins over West Virginia.
• Improve its record to 5-0 in true road games this season.
• Improve the Cowboys to 4-2 in their last six games against opponents ranked in the A.P. Poll.
• Give the Cowboys wins in 14 of their last 16 true road games.
• Give the Cowboys wins in 15 of their last 17 games overall.
• Mark the sixth time it has started 7-1 or better during the Mike Gundy era.
• Improve its all-time record against West Virginia to 5-4.
• Improve Mike Gundy's record against West Virginia to 4-2.
• Improve Mike Gundy's career record in conference games to 67-40.
• Improve the Cowboys to 48-19 in Big 12 Conference games since 2010.

Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game
• Oklahoma State has won 14 of its last 16 games overall.
• OSU is 13-1 in its last 14 games decided by less than 10 points.
• QB Mason Rudolph has thrown 41 touchdown passes against just six interceptions in his last 16 games.
• James Washington and Marcell Ateman each have 100 receiving yards in four of their last five games.
• James Washington has at least one catch in 39 straight games - the second-longest active streak in FBS.
• Receiver Jalen McCleskey has at least one catch in each of his last 29 games.
• Running back Justice Hill has rushed for at least 100 yards in four straight games and in eight of his last 11 games. The last time a Cowboy rushed for at least 100 yards in four straight games was Joseph Randle in the first four games of the 2012 season. An OSU back hasn't rushed for at least 100 yards in five consecutive games since Kendall Hunter accomplished the feat in 2010.
• OSU is outscoring opponents, 87-20, in first quarters this year. The Cowboy defense has pitched a first-quarter shutout in four of its seven games this season.
• OSU has won three straight overtime games.
• OSU has outrushed its opponent in seven of its last eight games and in nine of its last 11 games.
• Oklahoma State has won 28 of its last 35 games overall, dating back to the end of the 2014 season.
• OSU has forced at least one turnover in 21 straight games and in 30 of the last 31 games, dating to 2015.
• OSU has scored a defensive touchdown in three of its last seven games.
• Dating back to 2005, the Cowboys have won 30 of their last 32 games when not committing a turnover.
• Dating back to 2008, the Cowboys have won 53 of their last 58 games when winning the turnover battle.
• Oklahoma State has held its last 15 opponents to a total of minus-23 punt return yards.

Connections
• West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State in 2010.
• West Virginia offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State in 2010.
• West Virginia offensive line coach Joe Wickline coached at Oklahoma State from 2005 through 2013.
• Oklahoma State linebacker Kenneth Edison-McGruder and Cowboy back Keenen Brown and West Virginia wide receiver Alejandro Marenco III went to Alief Taylor High School in Houston, Texas.
• Oklahoma State linebacker Kirk Tucker and West Virginia safety E.J. Brown went to Tucker High School in Georgia.