Three Things to Know Ahead of OSU’s Trip to West Virginia

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The Cowboys hit the country roads this weekend to kick off their Big 12 season, and it might be one of the tougher trips they have all year.

Oklahoma State will square off with a West Virginia team fresh off a win over then-No. 25 Virginia. The Cowboys have been dominant in Morgantown of late, but they’ll have their work cut out for them against these Mountaineers.

Let’s take a look at three things to know before kickoff.

1. West Virginia’s Been Dominant on the Ground

The Mountaineers come in ranked sixth nationally (atop the Big 12 by a decent margin), averaging 281 rushing yards per game and a big part of that comes down to the QB run game.

Michael Hawkins Jr. is the third-leading rusher in the Big 12 despite taking snaps. He leads all QBs in the nation with 332 yards. That’s more than 107 yards per game on the ground at 7.3 yards per attempt. This presents obvious issues when it comes to your defensive game plan.

The Cowboys have been encouragingly good on that side of the ball so far this year. They currently are tied for the best third-down defense in the country with Penn State (16.22%), but they have not had to account for an extra set of wheels like Hawkins’ so far — and may not all year.

If the Pokes want to come out of Saturday with a win, they’ll need to figure out how to at least slow down the Mountaineers on the ground.

2. The Mountaineers Get After the QB

West Virginia is second in the league with 10 sacks, has logged multiple in every game this season and they’re doing it by committee. Of those 10 sacks, only linebacker Ashton Woods has multiple sacks (just two) with the other eight Mountaineers logging one each.

Maybe that’s due to a lack of a big-time edge or maybe it’s indicative of a good scheme.

Drew Mestemaker has been sacked only three times with two of those coming in the season opener against Tulsa. The other was against Murray State when a ball he attempted to toss forward was called a fumble and logged as a strip-sack.

Something’s got to give on this front and that will go a long way to determining the outcome of this one. The Cowboys’ offensive line has been banged up and less consistent over three games than you’d like to see, but they are hanging their hat on the Oregon game in which they kept a really talented defensive front at arm’s length.

3. West Virginia Has Given Up Some Big Plays

The Cowboys have thrived on getting their playmakers out in space in their two wins, and — if WVU’s first three games are any indication — there may be more opportunities for that in Morgantown.

West Virginia has given up 13 plays of at least 20 yards so far. Only Colorado and Houston (each with 15) have allowed more. When it comes to plays of at least 30 yards, the Mountaineers are dead last in the league, and T-1ooth nationally, having given up seven.

The Cowboys, conversely, lead the Big 12 with 20 plays of over 20 yards and have nine over 30. And that’s including the Tulsa game in which they only had two over 20 yards.

It’s a small sample size, but it’s pretty apparent that for the Cowboys to have their best chance to win, their playmakers need to make plays. (Deep analysis I know).

The Cowboys and Mountaineers face off at 6 p.m. CST Saturday in Morgantown.