FINAL: Mountaineers turn it into a runaway late, 34-10

Oklahoma State receiver David Glidden (13) goes up for a catch in front of West Virginia safety Dravon Henry (6) during the first quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium.

 

STILLWATER, Okla. — It was a spectacular, sun-splashed homecoming day at Boone Pickens Stadium, and it was warm. Like dog-days-of-August warm. Almost as warm as the last time West Virginia came to this state, when the Sooners prevailed 16-7 in 95-degree Norman.

No. 22 West Virginia enjoyed this trip much more, winning its fourth straight game, 34-10, by dominating the second half against Oklahoma State, which had won 23 of 25 at home.

Recapping our live blog with in-game updates:

— Stats of note: WVU only outgained Oklahoma State 448-436, but held the Cowboys to 2-of-15 on third downs.

— Stats of note: Clint Trickett finished 21-of-30 for 238 yards and two TDs. That was better than Daxx Garman, who was 21-of-41 with two interceptions and one TD.

— Stats of note: Wendell Smallwood ran for 132 yards on 23 carries. Dreamius Smith added 72 yards on only five attempts.

FINAL: West Virginia wins 34-10

— Dreamius Smith 40-yard touchdown run (3:12 fourth quarter) WVU leads 34-10
West Virginia was happy to try and kill the clock but Smith ran decimated some arm-tackles and ran it in. That gives West Virginia 210 yards rushing on 44 carries.

— Tyreek Hill ran for 17 yards, before a Shaq Riddick sack and three straight incompletions ended the series.

— Dravon Henry 52-yard interception return (4:44 fourth quarter) WVU leads 27-10
Garman was aiming somewhere between Glidden and Washington and wound up hitting Henry, who made his second pick of the afternoon.

— West Virginia picks up a first down thanks to Trickett’s 7-yard scramble on third-and-4. The next three plays were abysmal, with Trickett belted twice, before O’Toole punted.

— Desperately needing any type of score, Oklahoma State crossed midfield on Garman’s 13-yard pass to Sheperd, but that’s where the threat ended. Garvin missed Glidden on fourth-and-5 from the 37 and WVU took possession.

— Josh Lambert 43-yard field goal (10:14 fourth quarter) WVU leads 20-10
West Virginia didn’t get in the end zone but consumed 4:20 on the drive and made it a two-possession lead. Trickett missed his window to hit White on a 26-yard touchdown pass by throwing high, leaving the star receiver with three catches for 27 yards.

END OF THIRD QUARTER: West Virginia leads 17-10

— West Virginia converted three straight third downs, including Smith’s lengthy run, before an ill-executed end-around to Alford lost 5 yards on third-and-6 at the OSU 41. (Trickett is more accurate throwing forward than he is flipping backward.) On came O’Toole for his 18th inside-the-20 punt of the season. He still has zero touchbacks.

— Dreamius Smith gained 20 yards up the gut on third-and-19. What the ever-living hell?

— Garman threw a pair of 13-yarders to Washington and Brandon Sheperd, before OSU encountered fourth-and-5 on WVU’s side of midfield. Unlike in the first half, Gundy punted here, which looked like a beautiful decision when Kip Smith dropped a punt inside the 1.

— Josh Lambert 39-yard field goal (9:59 third quarter) WVU leads 17-10
West Virginia ends a string of five scoreless possessions with a 12-play, 53-yard drive to open the third quarter. Smallwood’s 22-yard run got it started, and pushed him over 100. The drive stalled on third-and-3 at the OSU 20 when Smallwood was stuffed for minus-2. On came Lambert who, much like Maryland, got away with a presnap stutter-step. This one was even more egregious. (Maybe the Big 12 needs a ninth official to focus solely on kickers?)

START OF THIRD QUARTER

— Wonder why Oklahoma State didn’t do more with that yardage? The Pokes were 0-of-6 on third downs.

— Trickett’s first-half line: 10-of-15 for 165 yards and two touchdowns. OSU’s Garman was 14-of-23 for 176 with a TD and an interception.

— Smallwood closed the half with 80 yards on 11 carries and a 14-yard catch. Oklahoma State has 123 yards rushing on 23 carries.

— Oklahoma State put up 299 yards on WVU in a half, only 19 less than Baylor produced last week. WVU has 250 yards at the break, though 152 of those came on the opening two drives.

END OF FIRST HALF: West Virginia leads 14-10

— West Virginia moved from its 20 to the OSU 43 largely on the legs of Smallwood, who is having a solid first half in light of Rushel Shell’s absence. On third-and-6, however, Trickett can’t connect with Daikiel Shorts. That leads to a fifth consecutive punt by the Mountaineers.

— Pinned at its own 9, OSU came out firing again. Garman beat the WVU blitz with a 9-yard pass to Hill, and the officials tacked on 15 because Dillon whacked the quarterback in the helmet. After James Washington beat Ricky Rumph for 39 yards and Glidden beat Henry for 17, WVU’s defense stiffened in the red zone. Edward Muldrow’s third-down sack forced Grogan into a 36-yard field goal that sailed wide right.

— Teddy Johnson 8-yard pass from Daxx Garman (8:34 second quarter) WVU leads 14-10
One play after Karl Joseph left with an injury, OSU’s Brandon Sheperd ran 51 yards on a reverse. The next snap saw the fullback Johnson sneak out of the backfield uncovered. The drive covered 89 yards and featured two nifty runs by Tyreek Hill.

— Dana Holgorsen LOVES third-and-long runs! Or at least he loves giving Trickett the flexibility to check into those plays. The result: Smallwood ripped off 13 on third-and-7. However, WVU ultimately wound up facing third-and-14, and after an 11-yard pass to Alford, Holgorsen opted to punt on fourth-and-3 at the OSU 46.

— Ben Grogan 40-yard field goal (14:11 second quarter) WVU leads 14-3
OSU took over near midfield and moved 32 yards in seven plays to get into kicking range. Desmond Roland ripped of a 13-yard run that could’ve gone for more if not for Shaq Petteway’s shoestring tackle. Garman also hit David Glidden for 17 yards but had another pass sail through Glidden’s hands.

END FIRST QUARTER

— A tough series for the WVU offensive line. First, Mark Glowinski was flagged for holding, which negated a first-down catch by White. Then Marquis Lucas was abused by Emmanuel Ogbah on third down, leading to a vicious-looking sack on Trickett, who fumbled. Lucas was at least alert enough to pounce on the loose ball, keeping alive this year’s string of neither defense recovering a fumble.

— Oklahoma State’s fourth series starts with K.J. Dillon planting Garman on an incompletion. The Cowboys go three-and-out and fans jeer the 3rd-and-11 run play that went nowhere against WVU’s three-man front.

— After the interception, West Virginia goes three-and-out.

— Garman had three good throws, picking up 42 yards, followed by a terrible one. Dravon Henry picked it off at the West Virginia 13, the freshman safety’s first career interception.

Mario Alford speeds 79 yards with a touchdown catch to put West Virginia ahead 14-0 in the first quarter.

— Mario Alford 79-yard pass from Clint Trickett (7:49 first quarter) WVU leads 14-0
West Virginia needed only three plays to go 90 yards on its second possession, and the Cowboys crowd turned quiet. On the play before Alford caught a slant pass and went untouched, OSU jumped offsides on third-and-4.

— OSU went three-and-out on its second series, something Mike Gundy worried about in recent weeks, because of its cumulative impact on the defense.

— Kevin White 19-yard pass from Trickett (10:29 first quarter) WVU leads 7-0
WVU’s first series looked easy. Wendell Smallwood had two runs for 23 yards and a catch for 14. That led to White beating man coverage on a post route for his eighth touchdown of the season. Th drive covered 62 yards on a crisp five plays.

— Oklahoma State’s first drive ends on fourth-and-4 at the WVU 38 when Daxx Garman misses Austin Hays deep. Safety Karl Joseph was trailing by a step.

— James Washington works Icky Banks outside on one play and inside on another for 24 yards aggregately.

START FIRST QUARTER

It’s a hot day in Stillwater as Oklahoma State hosts West Virginia.

— Was watching warmups, mainly to see which players have the best headphones, when I saw Daryl Worley and Rushel Shell dressed and participating. That’s a big first step, obviously. We’ll watch to see how much Shell’s foot injury hampers his mobility and whether Worley can be physical with those sore ribs.

— West Virginia’s upset of Baylor meant a return to the top 25, a heaping pile of national recognition and at least one reporter’s silly question about Oklahoma State presenting a trap game. The problem with that assertion? The Cowboys are favored.

“I don’t know how it could be a trap game if they’re favored,” Clint Trickett said.

Indeed, OSU opened as a 3-point favorite before the line shifted to a 1-point spread.

— Trickett admitted this week he couldn’t tune out the pessimism surrounding this team in the preseason. Now, with a 5-2 record and having surpassed last season’s win total, the Mountaineers are in the hunt for the Big 12 title with five games left. “It’s something we knew we could do, even though not a lot of people obviously thought that,” Trickett said.

Still, after beating Baylor, Trickett reminded everyone: “We haven’t exceeded expectations yet and we haven’t met them. We’re still pushing and working toward them.”

— Somehow, WVU and Oklahoma State have reached their eighth games without recovering an opponent’s fumble. The only other FBS team so unlucky with the bouncing ball? Michigan.

— Even after three seasons, OSU coach Mike Gundy isn’t accustomed to West Virginia being a Big 12 member.

“No, It’s just unusual. It’s just different,” he said. “We see so much crossover tape, and you’re used to seeing the end zones and the exterior of stadiums you’re used to playing in. And then you see (West Virginia’s) and you start to wonder what are you looking at?”

— As Dana Holgorsen announced Thursday night on his radio show, cornerback Terrell Chestnut (concussion) won’t be available today. The junior, after being knocked woozy by Baylor’s Corey Coleman, was not cleared to practice this week.





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