Countdown to Kickoff: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The winner of tonight's West Viriginia-Oklahoma State clash at Milan Puskar Stadium could very well find itself in Sunday's Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

Now who had that on their bingo cards just a month ago?

With apologies to Western Michigan, victims of Michigan's creative time keeping, Oklahoma State, under first-year coach Eric Morris, produced the most stunning result of the college football season in week two when the Cowboys upset then-sixth-ranked Oregon 39-31 in Stillwater.

That triumph snapped a 12-game losing streak and completed a full-circle irony that saw the skid begin with a 69-3 road loss to Oregon in Eugene in 2025

West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez called OSU's win "dominant" from start to finish, just one week after the Cowboys suffered a disappointing 24-10 loss at Tulsa to open the season.

Oklahoma State, now 2-1 after last Saturday's 59-0 victory over Murray State, received 50 votes in this week's AP poll, which places them five spots outside the top 25 at No. 30.

Two spots ahead of Oklahoma State is 3-0 West Virginia, coming off a surprising 38-27 victory over then-25^th-ranked Virginia at Bank America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Mountaineers were 4-8 last season under Rodriguez, one of four losing campaigns in the last five years for WVU, necessitating a course correction in November 2024.

The Big 12 Conference no longer issues a preseason media poll, but a collection of 16 conference beat writers came up with an unofficial preseason poll earlier this summer and listed Oklahoma State eighth and West Virginia 11^th.

So that's a little context heading into tonight's league opener.

Morris parlayed his success at North Texas into a power conference job at Oklahoma State last November and decided to bring a good portion of his roster with him to Stillwater.

At the top of the list is quarterback Drew Mestemaker, regarded among the top five quarterback prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft. He sits around 30^th-to-50^th on most people's draft boards and is generally considered to be just a tier below Texas' Arch Manning and Oregon's Dante Moore.

Mestemaker has the most unique background of the nation's top-rated quarterbacks, having never started a high school game behind center before blossoming under Morris at North Texas.

"The quarterback is a great player and a lot of hype on him going into the season," Rodriguez said. "He gets rid of the ball quickly. I think it is 1.8 seconds or something close to that. It is hard to sack him. Whether it is their RPO game or dropback, he gets rid of the football."

Morris has a long track record of developing elite college quarterbacks going back to his days at Texas Tech where he was offensive coordinator when Patrick Mahomes starred for the Red Raiders. He also counts time spent with Baker Mayfield and Cam Ward, although both were not coached by Morris during their final collegiate seasons.

Oklahoma State's ability to pass the football matches up favorably against a West Virginia pass defense that was the worst in the Big 12 last year and struggled in its season-opening win against Coastal Carolina, especially in the second half.

Last Saturday, however, West Virginia limited Virginia's Beau Pribula to 197 yards through the air, one week after holding UT Martin to 170 yards.

Naturally, slowing down Mestemaker will be West Virginia's biggest challenge on Saturday night.

The Mountaineers, too, have gotten exceptional quarterback play from Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins Jr., named national player of the week last week after his stellar five-touchdown performance against Virginia.

Hawkins was the nation's top-graded quarterback last Saturday, according to Pro Football Focus, and ranks No. 1 this week among all FBS quarterbacks averaging 18.3 yards per completion.

His 322 yards and six rushing touchdowns make him one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country through three games, which fits in nicely with Rodriguez's run-oriented attack.

The Mountaineers currently rank sixth in the country among all FBS teams in rushing, averaging 281.3 yards per game, and have gained more than 247 yards on the ground in all three games this season.

Senior Cam Cook is the team's second-leading rusher with 317 yards on a team-best 70 carries.

Here is tonight's Countdown to Kickoff:

10 – The Mountaineers have lost just TEN times in their last 53 games when rushing for at least 140 yards in a game. WVU has gained at least 247 yards on the ground in all three games so far this year on the way to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2018.

9 – The West Virginia defense has recorded at least NINE tackles for loss in four of its last six games dating back to last season.

8 – The Mountaineers have EIGHT players with at least 39 game's-worth of collegiate experience, led by offensive lineman Malik Agbo's 47 career games.

7 – West Virginia has won SEVEN Big 12 openers and also lost SEVEN times since joining the conference in 2012.

6 – The Mountaineers rank SIXTH in the Big 12 this week and 15^th nationally, converting 53.7% of their third down attempts.

5 – Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. accounted for all FIVE touchdowns scored in last Saturday's upset victory over 25^th-ranked Virginia. The sophomore ran for three scores and threw two more, becoming the first player since Pat White in 2008 to do so.

4 – West Virginia ranks FOURTH nationally in red zone defense, holding its opponents to a 55.6% success rate.

3 – Rich Rodriguez ranks THIRD among all power four conference coaches with 197 career victories.

2 – DJ Epps became the first Mountaineer wide receiver since Sam James in 2022 to have TWO consecutive games with 90-plus receiving yards.

1 –Hawkins ranks FIRST in the country this week averaging 18.3 yards per completion.

Tonight's game will be the 17^th meeting between the two schools, with the majority of those contests taking place since 2012 when West Virginia joined the Big 12.

OSU holds a 10-6 overall edge in the series and has won five straight in Morgantown from 2015 to 2023. That matches Miami's five-game winning streak here dating back to 2002 and ranks third behind Penn State (12) and Pitt (eight).

The contest will kick off at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on FS1 (Eric Collins and Spencer Tillman).

Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage begins with the GoMart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 4 p.m. leading into regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning at 6 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com, and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.

Tonight's matchup has been deemed a "Gold Rush" and fans are encouraged to wear gold to the game. Members of the 1981 Peach Bowl championship team will be in town for their 45-year reunion and will be recognized on the field during the first quarter.

Be sure to stop back afterward for complete postgame coverage.

Tale of the Tape	OSU (2-1)	WVU (3-0)
Points Per Game	36.0	40.3
Points Against	18.3	19.3
Rushing Yards Per Game	221.7	281.3
Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game	100.0	119.0
Passing Yards Per Game	306.3	177.0
Passing Yards Allowed Per Game	167.3	246.7
Total Yards Per Game	528.0	458.3
Total Yards Allowed Per Game	267.3	365.7
First Downs For	85	62
First Downs Against	32	58
Fumbles/Lost	3/3	3/2
Interceptions/Return Yards	2/13	1/0
Net Punting	39.8	38.0
Field Goal/Attempts	6/6	3/3
Time of Possession	34:22	28:22
Penalties/Yards	11/119	16/131
3rd Down Conversions	14/40	24/45
3rd Down Conversion Defense	6/37	15/42
4th Down Conversions	3/7	2/2
4th Down Conversion Defense	2/6	4/8
Sacks By/Yards Lost	4/9	10/75

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Malik Agbo

Cam Cook

DJ Epps

Michael Hawkins Jr.

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Football versus Oklahoma State on Sep 26, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at Iowa State on Oct 3, 2026 at 12:00 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football versus Arizona on Oct 10, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Football versus Cincinnati on Oct 17, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Football at TCU on Oct 24, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Football at Texas Tech on Nov 7, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Football versus Kansas on Nov 14, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Football versus Houston on Nov 21, 2026 at TBA

Results

Completed Event: Football versus No. 25 Virginia on September 19, 2026 , Win , 38, to, 27

Completed Event: Football versus UT Martin on September 12, 2026 , Win , 52, to, 7

Completed Event: Football versus Coastal Carolina on September 5, 2026 , Win , 31, to, 24

Completed Event: Football versus Texas Tech on November 29, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 49

Completed Event: Football at Arizona State on November 15, 2025 , Loss , 23, to, 25

Completed Event: Football versus Colorado on November 8, 2025 , Win , 29, to, 22

Completed Event: Football at #22/22 Houston on November 1, 2025 , Win , 45, to, 35

Completed Event: Football versus TCU on October 25, 2025 , Loss , 17, to, 23