West Virginia football crushed by Oklahoma on the road, 59-20
The Sooners got revenge for their 2022 loss against the Mountaineers on Saturday, as West Virginia was crushed by Oklahoma on the road in dominant fashion from all three phases, ending in a 59-20 defeat at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
West Virginia (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) ran the ball three times and attacked through the air with a massive 32-yard gain to wide receiver Devin Carter from signal caller Garrett Greene. Running back CJ Donaldson then scored on a 13-yard carry for WVU’s game-opening touchdown, making an early statement for the Mountaineers.
On its first offensive drive trailing 7-0, Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) quarterback Dillon Gabriel avoided pressure on two-straight snaps to complete a 23-yard pass and another for 30 yards, before Gavin Sawchuk ran up the middle for his own 30-yard gain. Gabriel then capped off the equalizing touchdown, scoring on a two-yard keeper.
The Mountaineers’ next drive ended after only three plays and the Sooners capitalized on the stop, running for 54 yards on the ground with Gabriel and Sawchuk and it was the former who scored once again for OU, another two-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown.
The second-straight possession for West Virginia ended in negative yards and a punt, but a break went in favor of the Mountaineers after Oklahoma muffed the punt in its own territory and WVU took over.
After three more offensive plays went for three yards or less, West Virginia kicker Michael Hayes pushed a 48-yard field goal wide left and WVU came away with no points on the extra possession.
Gabriel found wide receiver Nic Anderson for a 63-yard completion on the second play of the following Oklahoma drive. However, a strong defensive stand inside of the five-yard line held kicker Zach Schmit to a 23-yard attempt that put OU ahead 17-7 in the second quarter.
West Virginia ran for nine yards and rolled the dice on fourth and two against the Sooners defense on the next possession, but an incompletion from Greene led to a turnover on downs just past midfield. After going for their own fourth down, Gabriel and the Sooners then scored another touchdown, this time through the air on a three-yard completion to tight end Austin Stogner.
The Mountaineers’ offense continued to struggle as three plays led to a punt while the chunk plays kept coming for Oklahoma with two 20 plus yard gains on the other side. Then, Gabriel delivered his fourth touchdown on a 32-yard connection to wide receiver Jayden Gibson, putting the Sooners ahead 31-7.
West Virginia finally converted its first two first downs since the opening drive on the next possession with six minutes remaining, including a massive 49-yard completion to wide receiver Traylon Ray. The Sooners made a big stand on the line of scrimmage though, stopping WVU on four straight plays on the two-yard line for another turnover on downs.
After a quick stop, the Mountaineers trailed 24 and put together a scoring drive with one minute remaining in the half, aided by two 15-yard penalties from the Sooners. Greene found his tight end Kole Taylor for a three-yard touchdown pass as time dwindled to close the halftime deficit at 31-14.
With a clean pocket on the fourth play to open the second half, Gabriel delivered on a long pass and catch to leading wide receiver Drake Stoops for a 60-yard touchdown to push Oklahoma further ahead 38-14 on the opening third-quarter possession.
Donaldson strung together two double digit gains on the ground for WVU on the following drive and Greene magically evaded a sack for a 15-yard scramble. Then, Greene threw a strike over the middle to Carter for a seven-yard touchdown but a failed two-point conversion attempt left West Virginia down 38-20.
Halfway through the third quarter, West Virginia forced a three and out punt following a sack against Gabriel. However, the Sooners answered back with their own stop after a WVU personal foul put the Mountaineers far behind the chains, leading to a tipped pass and an interception for Greene as he pushed the ball downfield.
Stoops continued to make plays with 47 receiving yards of his 164 total on a single drive, including the nine-yard touchdown pass from Gabriel to cap off the subsequent drive and make the score 45-20 for Oklahoma.
Gabriel and Stoops found the endzone for the third time together in the fourth quarter, making the score 52-20 with a nine-yard strike into the back of the endzone.
After a WVU punt, Gabriel would score his third touchdown of the night with a five-yard keeper, pushing the score to 59-20 late into the fourth quarter. This would mark the game’s final score as Oklahoma would complete the dominant victory.
West Virginia heads back home for its next matchup, hosting a new Big 12 foe in the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The television broadcast will be available on ESPN+.
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