Oklahoma State 48 West Virginia 34: Postgame Notes

RV/RV Oklahoma State at RV/RV West Virginia

October 21, 2023 | Morgantown, W.V. (Milan Puskar Stadium) | Attendance: 51,870

Final Score: Oklahoma State 48, West Virginia 34

Updated Records: Oklahoma State 5-2 overall (3-1 Big 12); West Virginia 4-3 overall (2-2 Big 12)

Postgame Notes

• In a game featuring four lead changes, six fourth quarter scores and a standout performance from Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State held off West Virginia, 48-34, to improve to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. With consecutive victories over Kansas State, Kansas and West Virginia, Oklahoma State has won three straight games over teams it lost to during the 2022 season.
• Ollie Gordon II posted another remarkable game on Saturday, adding to his string of stellar performances and reaching a number of personal and Cowboy football milestones:
• First Cowboy with four rushing touchdowns in a game since Rennie Childs did so on September 17, 2016, against Pittsburgh.
• Most rushing yards by a Cowboy since Chuba Hubbard scampered for 296 yards against Kansas State on September 28, 2019.
• First Cowboy with four straight 100+ yard rushing games since Jaylen Warren during the 2021 season.
• Tied his career-high with 29 rushes, while setting new career-bests with 282 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
• With four more rushing scores, he is up to eight on the season and 10 in his career.
• Has found the end zone in three consecutive games, with seven total touchdowns during the span.
• The Cowboy offense exploded for 48 points behind 491 yards of total offense, 281 of which were on the ground. All three marks were the most allowed by West Virginia this season, who entered the game allowing just 22.7 points and 119 rushing yards per game.
• Oklahoma State’s 48 points produced on Saturday was its highest mark of the season and most in a road game since defeating Oregon State, 52-36, on August 30, 2019.
• The Cowboy offensive line has allowed just two total sacks in the last four games, the fewest in a four-game span since the final four games of the 2021 regular season.
• With two fourth down stops on Saturday, opponents are now 3-for-14 on fourth down against the Cowboys this season.
• Oklahoma State gained an early 3-0 lead thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Alex Hale with 11:00 minutes remaining in the opening quarter. OSU has scored first in every Big 12 game this season and held a double-digit lead after 15 minutes of play in each of its past three games.
• Kendal Daniels gave the Cowboys some early momentum in the first quarter, knocking the ball free from West Virginia’s Kole Taylor and recovering just before the ball trickled out of bounds. The play marked both Daniels’ second career forced fumble and fumble recovery.
• Making his 20th start as a Cowboy, Korie Black reeled in his first career interception with just over nine minutes left in the first quarter. It was just the second interception thrown by Garrett Greene this season.
• After forcing five total turnovers in its last two games, the Cowboy defense took the ball away two more times in the opening six minutes on Saturday.
• With 4:52 remaining in the third quarter, Alan Bowman connected with Jaden Bray for a 5-yard touchdown to retake the lead, 20-17. The receiving score was Bray’s first of the season and first since the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame on January 1, 2022. Meanwhile, the passing throw was Bowman’s fifth in a Cowboy uniform.
• The Cowboys forced their third turnover of the game when Parker Robertson recovered a muffed punt early in the fourth quarter, the first recovered fumble of his career.
• With three more takeaways against West Virginia, OSU has forced multiple turnovers in three straight games for the first time since the final three contests of the 2021 season. Entering Saturday’s game, Oklahoma State ranked fifth in the NCAA with 318 turnovers forced since 2010.
• Brennan Presley scored a 29-yard receiving touchdown with seven minutes left in the game. It was his fourth score through the air this season and led the Cowboys in catches (nine) and receiving yards (62) against the Mountaineers.
• Nickolas Martin continued his breakout season on Saturday, matching his career-high of 17 tackles while adding 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
• Kendal Daniels and Collin Oliver both matched their career-highs in total tackles with 11 and 10, respectively. Daniels also chipped in a forced fumble and tackle for loss, while Oliver recorded half a sack.
• Alex Hale added to his Lou Groza Award résumé against West Virginia, nailing two of three fields to make him 17-for-21 on the season. Hale entered Saturday as the Big 12’s top point-scorer with 60 through six games.
• Bryce Drummond appeared in his first game as a Cowboy after playing in a dozen games last season for North Texas.
• Oklahoma State’s game captains against the Mountaineers were Joe Michalski, Zeke Zaragoza, Brennan Presley and Xavier Benson

The Oklahoma State Win...

• Improved Mike Gundy's record in October games to 49-21.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in road games to 55-40.
• Improved its all-time record against West Virginia to 10-5 and its record vs. WVU in Morgantown to 5-2.
• Gave it wins in eight of its past nine games against West Virginia and five straight wins over WVU in Morgantown.
• Made it 8-6 in its past 14 road games.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record against West Virginia to 9-3.
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in Big 12 games to 98-62.
• Made it 26-10 in its past 36 games overall, dating back to the 2020 season.
• Made it 90-23 in its past 113 games vs. opponents outside of the AP Top 25, dating to 2010.

Notable Streaks and Trends

• The Cowboys have forced eight turnovers in the past three games.
• OSU has held its opponent scoreless on its game-opening drive in 36 of its past 51 games.
• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 78-8 when winning the turnover battle.
• Over the past 44 games, OSU has held opponents to 202-for-676 (29.9%) on third down.