STILLWATER – It was another rough day for Oklahoma State as the 14-game home win streak is snapped with a 24-19 loss to West Virginia.
With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 7-5 on the season and 4-5 in Big 12 play.
"I told the team I was really proud of the way they finished,” head coach Mike Gundy said in his opening statement. “It was kind of ironic, after Wednesday's practice, I mentioned to the players that if you're a backup, the way some of this has gone this year, make sure you understand what's going on, make sure you know the game plan. We've had so many players that have had to come in and play. One of the most difficult things for young players to do is to prepare like they're going to be the starter when they're in the backup role. Unfortunately, that held true today. I think some of those guys came in and played pretty well that I mentioned you better be ready in case some guys get dinged up.
"Looking forward to starting back up. They get to play one more game together, and I want them to practice well, be enthusiastic and try to play the best game they've played in a few months. We might be able to get a few more guys back which would be good if we can get some guys healthy over the next couple of weeks. We have a chance to go out to compete and go out and play the best game they've played in a few months if we could get some guys back. Told them I appreciated their effort, which I did."
True freshman quarterback Garret Rangel finished the game going 18-of-42 for 178 yards. His leading receiver was Brennan Presley with five receptions for 77 yards on seven targets. The next receiver on the list was redshirt senior Braydon Johnson who had four receptions for 60 yards. That was, however, on 11 targets.
Ollie Gordon posted by far one of Oklahoma State’s best rushing performances of the season against the Mountaineers. The true freshman out of Euless Trinity rushed for 136 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries, an average of eight yards per carry.
Deondre Jackson had his best performance of the season with 56 yards on 12 carries, an average of 4.7 a carry.
"Well, we've been working on it we just haven't seen any results," coach Gundy said. “We rushed the ball better today, we covered guys up. You guys are up higher than I am, it looked like there were some creases in there for some guys to get in there and run a little bit. We haven't had that many creases in about six weeks. It looked like there were some creases for the running backs to get up there and run a little bit."
The November woes continued for the Cowboys as they got off to a slow start against the Mountaineers. They combined for just 69-first quarter yards, 8-for-13 passing for 79 yards and four carries for negative 10 yards. The defense held WVU to similar stats as they combined for just 67 yards, but they did get into the end zone on a 36-yard run by quarterback Garrett Greene.
The Pokes flipped the script a bit in the second quarter as they combined for 121 yards and a fairly balanced offensive attack. Garret Rangel went 7-of-14 for 79 yards through the air, with the offense combining for 42 yards on 15 carries.
The Pokes’ lone touchdown of the half came on a four-yard rush by Brennan Presley on a little swing pass from Rangel. Tanner Brown hit a 22-yard field goal towards the end of the half to put the Pokes up 10.
The defense struggled quite a bit out of the gates in the third quarter as they struggled to tackle. Running back Jaylen Anderson had a huge quarter as he got into the end zone twice, once from 54 yards out and once from 57 yards out, both coming on missed tackles and early in the quarter.
Ollie Gordon had a really good third quarter for the Pokes, however, as he rushed for 69 yards and one touchdown, getting the Pokes back with two points, 21-19. They had a chance to tie the game at 21, but Rangel failed to connect with Gordon on a fade pass to the corner of the end zone.
The defense came up with a huge stop at the start of the fourth quarter to give the Pokes the ball back at their own 31-yard line. The offense was driving nicely with a 22-yard run down the right side, but Rangel fumbled a snap due to the rain.
Fortunately for the offense, the defense forced a second-straight punt, allowing just one yard on the two drives, to get the offense the ball back. The Cowboy defense came up big on the ensuing WVU drive as they held the Mountaineers to a 34-yard field goal, putting them up 24-19 with 5:59 left in the game.
The Cowboys had a chance to take the lead on the next drive. Starting on the OSU 25-yard line, Ollie Gordon picked up gains of 18, 11 and four yards to put the Pokes on the WVU 46-yard line. A few plays later, he hauled in a pass from Rangel for 10 yards to the WVU 42-yard line following a hold on Preston Wilson. Rangel had a chance to keep the drive alive on 4th and three but overthrew Gordon to give the ball back to WVU.
Derek Mason’s defense had a huge stop on the ensuing drive, giving the offense one last chance to make something happen.
After mishandled snap and a 28-yard punt, the Pokes took over on their own 46-yard line with 1:29 remaining on the clock and one timeout. On the first play of the drive, WVU was called for defensive pass interference against Braydon Johnson. The refs, however, picked the flag up on account of the ball being underthrown, much to the dismay of the OSU faithful.
Rangel went back to Johnson the next play, with Johnson dropping the ball towards the sidelines. Rangel missed John Paul Richardson on 3rd and 10, bringing up a 4th and long. A short pass to Ollie Gordon was dropped, giving the ball back to West Virginia with just over a minute.
