MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Shaken by back-to-back defeats and a sudden proclivity for turnovers, Skyler Howard became choked up Saturday night while answering questions about West Virginia’s 33-26 loss to Oklahoma State.
“Adversity is part of life. You’ve got to come back and fight back,” the quarterback said. “You could quit and just let life win, and let things go downhill, or you can fight back. I’ve always been the type of person to fight back and I always will be.”
Howard completed only 18-of-35 passes for 188 yards, threw a costly interception and lost an even costlier fumble. But he also commanded West Virginia’s second-half recovery by throwing a touchdown and running for another to force overtime.
Check out his postgame comments:
Even with Karl Joseph watching from the coaches box, Tony Gibson’s defense limited Oklahoma State to a season-low 362 yards. But the Cowboys scored 17 points off turnovers and ran the ball effectively on its decisive overtime possession.
“Kids are upset and disappointed,” he said. “There are a lot of guys hurting, but you know, that’s the game of football.”
More from Gibson after the game:
Junior bandit safety Jarrod Harper, making his first start after Joseph’s season-ending knee injury, made six tackles and broke up two passes.
“That’s just not a regular spot to take,” Harper said. “Karl’s going to do big things in the NFL … but you could see how bad it hurt him not being out there.”