Photo by: Caleb Saunders
WVU Begins Game-Week Prep For No. 11 Oklahoma State
September 20, 2020 09:14 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Last week, West Virginia turned its full attention to Oklahoma State in preparation for its Big 12 opener in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Now, the Mountaineers (1-0) have a little more information on the 11th-ranked Cowboys.
Third-string quarterback Shane Illingworth came off the bench in the second half to lead Oklahoma State to Saturday's 16-7 come-from-behind victory over Tulsa.
OSU lost starting quarterback Spencer Sanders early in the first quarter to a high ankle sprain, and backup Ethan Bullock struggled as Tulsa took a 10-3 lead right before the end of the first half.
Veteran coach Mike Gundy went to Illingworth midway through the third quarter when Bullock continued to struggle and the freshman completed his first three passes for 68 yards on Oklahoma State's only touchdown drive of the game, which resulted in a 3-yard Chuba Hubbard scoring run.
Illingworth also directed a pair of drives that resulted in field goals as he finished the day 4-of-5 for 74 yards. Hubbard managed 93 yards on 27 carries and big-time playmaker Tylan Wallace grabbed four passes for 94 yards as Oklahoma State avoided suffering another stinging non-conference loss that besieged the Big 12 on the opening week of the season.
West Virginia, meanwhile, had an unusual bye week following its season-opening 56-10 win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Coach Neal Brown said during his weekly United Bank Playbook segment with Tony Caridi on Wednesday that his preseason planning was primarily geared toward the conference opener against the Cowboys on the 26th.
"We approached this during fall camp – and really the six-week, return-to-play model – is we had Sept. 26 penciled in as when we really had to get our guys ready," Brown noted. "That's no disrespect to Eastern Kentucky, but we were not going to be in tip-top football condition on Sept. 12 - not missing a whole summer workout program. So we really targeted the 26th to be physically ready to play an entire game like we normally would."
Last year, West Virginia led Oklahoma State 10-7 at halftime but struggled to get touchdowns whenever it reached the red zone in a 20-13 loss to the Cowboys.
Hubbard ran 26 times for 106 yards and also caught seven passes for 88 yards for Oklahoma State that afternoon in Morgantown.
West Virginia quarterback Jarret Doege passed for a season-high 307 yards and a touchdown to George Campbell, and could have had another TD strike when replay determined his 12-yard touchdown pass to freshman Sam James was ruled down at the 1 instead of in the end zone.
WVU failed to punch the ball in from there and was forced to settle for an Evan Staley 22-yard field goal.
The Mountaineers' ground game netted just 26 yards on 22 attempts against Oklahoma State's defense.
We will have more on Oklahoma State from Brown during his Monday morning Big 12 coaches' teleconference and then Tuesday when he has his weekly meeting with local media.
Saturday's game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EST and will be televised nationally on ABC.
Now, the Mountaineers (1-0) have a little more information on the 11th-ranked Cowboys.
Third-string quarterback Shane Illingworth came off the bench in the second half to lead Oklahoma State to Saturday's 16-7 come-from-behind victory over Tulsa.
OSU lost starting quarterback Spencer Sanders early in the first quarter to a high ankle sprain, and backup Ethan Bullock struggled as Tulsa took a 10-3 lead right before the end of the first half.
Veteran coach Mike Gundy went to Illingworth midway through the third quarter when Bullock continued to struggle and the freshman completed his first three passes for 68 yards on Oklahoma State's only touchdown drive of the game, which resulted in a 3-yard Chuba Hubbard scoring run.
Illingworth also directed a pair of drives that resulted in field goals as he finished the day 4-of-5 for 74 yards. Hubbard managed 93 yards on 27 carries and big-time playmaker Tylan Wallace grabbed four passes for 94 yards as Oklahoma State avoided suffering another stinging non-conference loss that besieged the Big 12 on the opening week of the season.
West Virginia, meanwhile, had an unusual bye week following its season-opening 56-10 win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Coach Neal Brown said during his weekly United Bank Playbook segment with Tony Caridi on Wednesday that his preseason planning was primarily geared toward the conference opener against the Cowboys on the 26th.
"We approached this during fall camp – and really the six-week, return-to-play model – is we had Sept. 26 penciled in as when we really had to get our guys ready," Brown noted. "That's no disrespect to Eastern Kentucky, but we were not going to be in tip-top football condition on Sept. 12 - not missing a whole summer workout program. So we really targeted the 26th to be physically ready to play an entire game like we normally would."
Last year, West Virginia led Oklahoma State 10-7 at halftime but struggled to get touchdowns whenever it reached the red zone in a 20-13 loss to the Cowboys.
Hubbard ran 26 times for 106 yards and also caught seven passes for 88 yards for Oklahoma State that afternoon in Morgantown.
West Virginia quarterback Jarret Doege passed for a season-high 307 yards and a touchdown to George Campbell, and could have had another TD strike when replay determined his 12-yard touchdown pass to freshman Sam James was ruled down at the 1 instead of in the end zone.
WVU failed to punch the ball in from there and was forced to settle for an Evan Staley 22-yard field goal.
The Mountaineers' ground game netted just 26 yards on 22 attempts against Oklahoma State's defense.
We will have more on Oklahoma State from Brown during his Monday morning Big 12 coaches' teleconference and then Tuesday when he has his weekly meeting with local media.
Saturday's game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EST and will be televised nationally on ABC.
Players Mentioned
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