Seeking to snap the Sooners streak
For the second time this season, West Virginia enters a Big 12 matchup with a drought hanging over its head. This time with Oklahoma.
Since joining the Big 12 conference in 2012, the Mountaineers have yet to defeat Bob Stoops and the Sooners.
Since losing an offensive shootout by one point in its first meeting with Oklahoma in 2012, West Virginia has been beaten pretty handedly by the Sooners in the past three matchups, losing by an average of 13.7 points and were plagued by turnovers in each game.
The losing streak against the Sooners isn’t the first thing on the West Virginia’s mind. The Mountaineers have become a team that takes it one game at a time and views each week’s game as the most important game.
“It’s an important game because it’s the next game for us,” West Virginia redshirt center Tyler Orlosky said. “I’ve been here a long time, 0-4 against Oklahoma, obviously you want to win this game and it’ll set you up for the rest of the season, finish out strong, and hopefully we do.”
A win against Oklahoma would not only end West Virginia’s four game losing streak to the Sooners but would also help the Mountaineers take one step closer to winning their first ever Big 12 championship and a higher spot in the College Football Rankings.
West Virginia came in at 14th in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Six two-loss times are ahead are the Mountaineers in the rankings and a three-loss USC team is ranked ahead of West Virginia at 13th.
For the Mountaineers to earn more respect from the College Football Playoff Committee, a victory against Oklahoma is pivotal.
The last time West Virginia defeated Bob Stoops and the Sooners was in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, back when the Mountaineers were still a member of the Big East conference.
What is similar from that matchup to this year’s is that Oklahoma is favored. In fact, in both games, 49 out of the 50 states have predicted an Oklahoma victory… except for the state of West Virginia according to ESPN.
The Mountaineers have already ended a four year losing streak this season to a Big 12 foe in Kansas State earlier this season. Another streak could be coming to an end in Morgantown this Saturday night.
In the past and most notably in 2012, West Virginia would hit a mid-season slump after a strong start to the season. It’s completely different vibe with this year’s team as they get set for the one of the biggest games ever to be played in Morgantown.
“I’m happy for Mountaineer Nation to be able to have this and look forward to on Saturday night,” West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “We’ll get ready to play and put a good product out there that they can be proud of.”Take a look around.