Game Preview: The Next Chapter of Dru Brown’s Journey Starts in Morgantown

STILLWATER — The Cowboys will look to make it five straight against West Virginia this weekend.

Oklahoma State travels to Morgantown having won the last four games in the series and the last two in Milan Puskar Stadium.

This game has gotten a lot more interesting this week with the reports that the Pokes will be without starting quarterback Spencer Sanders for the rest of the season with a hand injury. We’ll touch more on that after the standings and stats.

Big 12 Standings

Offensive Stats

Defensive Stats

Make a Movie about Dru Brown

Dru Brown is the big talking point entering this game.

Brown, a redshirt senior who transferred from Hawaii, will start his first game at Oklahoma State. He’s thrown just 18 passes as a Cowboy, but three of those have been touchdowns.

Brown hasn’t started a game since Nov. 25, 2017, when his Hawaii squad fell to BYU 30-20. In that game, Brown completed 74 percent of his passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns.

Brown came in for an injured Spencer Sanders this past weekend and completed three passes, one of which was a touchdown, in a game that was already well in hand.

“We were pleased with Dru,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said Monday. “Dru’s been a great illustration of a culture here at Oklahoma State. He actually was a captain in that game because of all the hard work and effort he’s put in and the commitment he’s had to our program. We enjoy seeing him have success. He came out and played well.”

It’s less than ideal for the Cowboys that their freshman gunslinger will miss the rest of the regular season, but it continues Dru Brown’s story.

His college career started at the junior college level at College of San Mateo, a program that ran a triple-option offense. After one season, Brown earned a scholarship at Hawaii, where he played in 25 games, throwing for 5,273 yards and 37 touchdowns.

He then took an opportunity in Stillwater as a graduate transfer with Mason Rudolph on his way out, but Taylor Cornelius started over him all last season. Then the younger Sanders won the starting job this season.

If Brown plays well these next few games, a movie should be made about his football career.

Mountaineers’ Move to Doege Is Working Out

The Mountaineers have moved on from Oklahoma transfer Austin Kendall, and it seems to have been a good decision.

Kendall threw his ninth and 10th interceptions against Texas Tech on Nov. 9, and first-year coach Neal Brown made the move to Bowling Green transfer Jarret Doege. Doege couldn’t save the Mountaineers against Tech, but WVU beat Kansas State in Manhattan in Doege’s first start this past weekend.

Since Brock Purdy came to Stillwater in 2018 and lit the Cowboys up for 402 total yards, five touchdowns and a win, the OSU faithful haven’t felt great about new quarterbacks playing against Jim Knowles’ defense.

The Doege to Purdy comparison isn’t a one-to-one thing, though. Purdy came out as a freshman with no college film on him. Doege has thrown 47 passes this year with West Virginia after throwing for 4,041 yards and 39 touchdowns in two seasons at Bowling Green.

“You never want to go into a game and not know what to expect,” OSU linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga said. “Kinda like last year when Purdy came in against us. That was tough because what a player he is, and we had no idea. I’m glad we got one game under our belt of watching him. Now we know kinda what to expect.”