MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Not since Neal Brown’s first season as West Virginia’s head coach in 2019 have the Mountaineers misplaced 4 straight video games.
To keep away from doing so in 2022, West Virginia might want to do one thing it’s but to in 9 tries as a member of the Big 12 Conference — beat Oklahoma.
The Mountaineers (3-6, 1-5) and Sooners (5-4, 2-4) conflict at midday Saturday inside Milan Puskar Stadium in a contest airing nationally on Fox Sports 1.
“The thing that’s great and the reason why I really believe our guys are excited is because Oklahoma gives you an opportunity to do something we haven’t done since we joined the Big 12,” Brown stated. “A couple big wins before joining the Big 12, but this team has an opportunity to be the first one to win since joining the Big 12. That’s added incentive.”
West Virginia additionally wants a win to maintain any hope alive of a non-losing season. The Mountaineers have struggled mightily away from residence, shedding all three Big 12 highway affairs by lopsided margins and failing to surpass 20 factors in any of these video games.
Though WVU is simply 2-2 at residence this season, Brown provided a reminder that his workforce was aggressive in each losses — in time beyond regulation to Kansas and in the newest residence outing towards TCU. The Mountaineers have had little problem scoring on their turf, producing 181 factors over 4 residence video games, together with 116 in three league video games.
“We haven’t played as well as we want to, but all four of our home games have been entertaining. Towson was a blowout, but the other three games have come right down to the end,” Brown stated. “They haven’t always gone the way we wanted them to, but they’ve been entertaining. I hope our people show up. Our guys are going to play hard and it’s going to be an entertaining game. We have a traditional power in Oklahoma coming in.”
The unit is seeking to bounce again in a giant approach following what Brown referred to as a putrid offensive displaying per week in the past in a 31-14 loss at Iowa State. Although the Mountaineers trailed by a area purpose to begin the fourth quarter, their offense struggled all through and produced half of its level complete after ISU had the sport in hand and with second-string quarterback Garrett Greene.
Quarterback JT Daniels accomplished solely 8-of-22 passes for 81 yards and West Virginia struggled to maintain drives whereas working solely 49 performs in the loss.
Brown confirmed Daniels will stay the beginning and provided a vote of confidence for the USC and Georgia switch by saying he expects him to play properly and bounce again.
“It’s natural tendency you start kind of worrying about what’s next, but you’re doing yourself a really big injustice because you have to be where your feet are and really worry about the here and now,” Brown stated. “That’s what we’re doing. We’ll worry about long term and things like that and future years at the end. Right now, it’s about we have to find a way to beat Oklahoma. As a staff, how do we put our players in the best position to go beat Oklahoma? As a player, how do I get myself prepared to go beat Oklahoma and do my job?”
A backfield that’s been with out tailback Tony Mathis every of the final two video games ought to profit from his return. Mathis will seemingly share the majority of the work with Justin Johnson.
The unit will look to function at a excessive degree towards the Sooners, who’re No. 8 total in scoring protection and No. 9 in that class inside league play by surrendering 29.8 and 39.7 factors, respectively, in the 2 classes.
Oklahoma enters with the Big 12’s worst rush protection and is permitting 200 yards on common.
The struggles have come in Brent Venables’ first season as OU head coach after the previous Sooners’ assistant had a profitable 10-year stint as Clemson’s defensive coordinator that featured a pair of National Championships.
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In a three-game skid that spanned late October by means of the second week of November, Oklahoma allowed a complete of 145 factors to Kansas State, TCU and Texas.
“The numbers are skewed a little bit in that two-game stretch they had versus Texas and TCU,” Brown stated. “They’ve changed quite a bit from the Kansas game on, so that’s kind of where we’ve focused. I watched the TCU and Texas games, but the focus has really been after that, because structurally, they’ve kind of changed what they’re doing and they’re doing fewer things.”
The Sooners have displayed defensive enchancment of late, although they nonetheless allowed 42 factors to Kansas in a victory and 38 in final week’s three-point loss to Baylor.
Linebacker Danny Stutsman is the highest tackler with 77, together with a team-high 9 tackles for loss. Fellow linebacker David Ugwoegbu isn’t far behind Stutsman in each classes, having recorded 74 tackles and 6 TFLs.
Defensive lineman Reggie Grimes has 4 of the workforce’s 18 sacks.
Although the protection has endured its justifiable share of struggles, Oklahoma’s offense stays a power and is producing higher than 33 factors on common, together with practically 29 in convention play regardless of being shutout towards the Longhorns.
That loss got here with beginning quarterback Dillon Gabriel sidelined, and in the opposite eight video games, Gabriel has largely performed at a excessive degree. The Central Florida switch has 2,027 passing yards with 16 touchdowns and 4 interceptions whereas finishing higher than 64 of his throws in his first 12 months with the Sooners.
“He’s a dual threat and he has a quick release and a really strong arm,” Brown stated.
Wideout Marvin Mims is Gabriel’s prime goal with 38 receptions for 678 yards and 4 TDs, whereas tight finish Brayden Willis has a team-high 5 landing grabs.
Tailback Eric Gray is the Big 12’s fourth-leading rusher with 902 yards and eight touchdowns on 140 carries and the Sooners boast the Big 12’s prime dashing offense at 219.8 yards on common.
OU will seemingly make the most of a fast-paced tempo all through the competition, one thing the Mountaineers struggled with just a few weeks again in a loss at Texas Tech.
“They’re going to play really fast,” Brown stated. “We had struggles with that against Texas Tech, so we have to be better there.”
They’ll work towards a West Virginia protection that performed lots properly sufficient to win by means of three quarters earlier than permitting 21 fourth-quarter factors in Ames.
The energy of the Mountaineer protection is up entrance, the place lineman Dante Stills leads the best way with eight TFLs and three.5 sacks. Stills just lately turned this system’s all-time chief in TFLs and video games performed.
has struggled forcing turnovers all through the season and enters with a mere three interceptions, whereas the Sooners have 10.
“We have to find ways to create takeaways,” Brown stated. (*12*)
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