MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It's time for West Virginia to hit the reset button with 4-2 Oklahoma State looming on Saturday afternoon. Both teams sit at 2-1 in Big 12 play.
 
The Mountaineers (4-2) are coming off a disappointing 41-39, Hail Mary loss at Houston last Thursday night. WVU scored 15 points in the final 7:28 to overcome an 11-point deficit only to see its comeback attempt foiled on the game's last play.
 
Cougar quarterback Donovan Smith flung a pass toward the end zone that West Virginia was unable to bat down, and the football landed in the arms of Stephon Johnson Jr. with no time remaining on the clock.
 
Coach Neal Brown said the game didn't boil down to that play, but rather a series of plays on offense, defense and special teams that amounted to the team's worst overall performance of the season.
 
According to Brown, what was particularly frustrating to him was how poorly some of the team's key performers played on both sides of the ball. He estimated there were as many as 15 plays on offense, 20 plays on defense and six plays on special teams where the game could have been won.
 
"Some guys lost their way," Brown admitted.
 
The loss to Houston snapped a four-game winning streak that was the longest of Brown's five-year tenure at WVU. The Mountaineers won those four games with tough, physical defense, effective special teams play and great poise on offense – complementary football that was missing in the Houston loss.
 
WVU came into the game as one of the least penalized teams in the Big 12 and was flagged eight times for 84 yards, including a devastating 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that helped put Houston in position to score the game-winning touchdown. Brown thought there could have been even more penalties called on the Mountaineers.
 
The defense, which entered the game ranked 30^th in the country allowing just 19 points per game, was virtually non-existent in the second half when Houston scored touchdowns on four of its final five possessions. Those Cougar scoring drives spanned just 2:32, 2:06, 3:24 and :07.
 
Also mixed in there was an eight-play, 56-yard drive that lasted 1:26 and Matthew Golden's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
 
When you add it all up it was West Virginia's most disappointing performance of the season.
 
Now, the team must put that performance behind them before facing a vastly improved Oklahoma State team that is finding its way. After losing 33-7 to South Alabama in week three and falling 34-27 at Iowa State a week later, the Cowboys have recovered to win two straight in impressive fashion against Kansas State (31-29) and Kansas (39-32).
 
"Credit to coach (Mike) Gundy and his staff," Brown said. "They had a tough loss earlier in the year; they've rebounded with two ranked wins in a row and they're playing extremely well. They're one of the hottest teams in the country right now, and I think it starts with their running attack."
 
Running back Ollie Gordon II has been the constant in those two victories, the sophomore running for 136 yards and a touchdown against Kansas State before contributing 284 all-purpose yards against the Jayhawks.
 
The Fort Worth, Texas, resident ran 29 times for 168 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 116 yards and another score. He comes into Saturday's game on a streak of three straight 100-yard rushing performances, including a 121-yard effort in the loss to Iowa State.
 
The Mountaineers are well aware of Gordon after he ran 17 times for 136 yards and a touchdown in last year's game in Stillwater.
 
"He's been special the last two weeks, and he's a real physical runner," Brown said.
 
Former Texas Tech quarterback Alan Bowman is now playing for his third school after a two-year stint at Michigan. Bowman played in the Red Raiders' 2018 loss to the Mountaineers in Lubbock when he completed 9-of-20 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.
 
After finally settling on Bowman behind center, Gundy has seen his signal caller complete 100 of his 176 pass attempts for 1,084 yards and four touchdowns. Bowman threw for 235 in the Kansas State win and is coming off a 28-for-41, 336-yard passing performance last week against Kansas.
 
Jaden Bray (23 receptions for 296 yards), Rashod Owens (18-224) and Brennan Presley (27-217) are Bowman's top three pass catching targets.
 
"(Bowman) is getting the ball to their playmakers, and they have skill at wideout," Brown pointed out. "It will be a huge challenge for us defensively against that offense."
 
New defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo has switched to a version of the 3-3-5 stack defense he learned at Emporia State. The Cowboys are giving up 392.8 yards per game, which ranks 86^th this week, but they have been effective stopping teams in the red zone and on fourth down.
 
Linebacker Nickolas Martin leads Oklahoma State with 54 tackles, eight tackles for losses, three quarterback pressures and an interception.
 
"It's going to come down to who can win the turnover battle and who scores in the red zone? Who scores touchdowns and who can hold the opponent to field goals or force some takeaways down there?" Brown said.
 
Overall, the Cowboys have generated 37 tackles for losses, 16 sacks and six interceptions in six games. Pass defense has been an issue, OSU giving up 249.5 yards per game through the air and ranks 108^th nationally with a 146.25 pass efficiency rating.
 
West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene, coming off by-far the best passing performance of his career at Houston, will look to build on that Saturday. The junior completed 20-of-38 passes for a career-high 391 yards with two touchdowns.
 
Explosive plays that were lacking in West Virginia's first five games came in abundance against Houston. NC State transfer Devin Carter showed season highs of five catches for 116 yards, while tight end Kole Taylor continues to be a force with five catches for 62 yards.
 
The WVU run game, effective in wins over Duquesne, Pitt, Texas Tech and TCU, was less effective against the Cougars with starting offensive linemen Wyatt Milum and Tomas Rimac sidelined. Brown said earlier this week that he expects Milum to return to the field this Saturday, while Rimac is probably still another week away from being ready.
 
Brown also said safety Aubrey Burks practiced on Monday, which is a good development for the defense.
 
"We've got to respond, and life is all about response," Brown explained. "We had a game that didn't go the way we wanted it to go. We definitely didn't finish it in a manner that any of us have ever experienced, so you've got to stand up and fight.
 
"You've got to back to work. That's what we're doing this week, and we'll play much better on Saturday afternoon," Brown added.
 
Saturday's Homecoming game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN (Mike Monaco, Robert Griffin III and Kris Budden). 
 
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show leading into regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning at 2:30 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
 
Tickets are still available and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by calling 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
 
Oklahoma State leads the series 9-5, including a 4-2 mark in Morgantown. West Virginia won last year's game in Stillwater 24-19.