Matchup Battle: Cowboys to Face David Long Jr., Tough Mountaineer Front

The matchup of West Virginia’s defensive front against Oklahoma State’s rushing attack will be a major difference maker this Saturday. The Cowboys are second in the conference in rushing while the Mountaineers are second in rush defense.

The Mountaineer defense has been inconsistent against the run. In WVU’s loss to Iowa State in October, the defense gave up 31 missed tackles and allowed David Montgomery to run for over 6.5 yards per carry. But in their 47-10 trashing of against TCU last week, the Horned Frogs recorded -7 rushing yards and seven fumbles.

The biggest impact player for the Mountaineer front is linebacker David Long Jr. The junior is second in the Big 12 in sacks and first in tackles for loss, and he leads the defense in total tackles by more than 20. The Cowboys will have to account for him if they want to find consistent success up front.

The Cowboys’ rushing attack played a large part in last year’s meeting between these two teams. OSU ran for 246 yards on 56 carries in their 50-39 win, with J.D. King getting an eye-opening 36 carries for 142 yards and a touchdown.

Justice Hill and this talented stable of running backs will have plenty of opportunities against West Virginia, and if the Cowboys can find some consistency on the ground, they can duplicate the winning formula they used against Texas to pull home upset win No. 2 this season.