Oklahoma vs. West Virginia: Game Grades, Analysis for Sooners

Whatever Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops told his guys at halftime, it certainly worked.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Sooners dominated the final 30 minutes, running the West Virginia Mountaineers out of their own stadium, 45-33.

Check out the game’s final stats here and take a look at first- and second-half game grades as well as analysis below.

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Second-Half Grades
Pass Offense	B-	C-
Rush Offense	B+	A+
Pass Defense	B-	A-
Rush Defense	A-	A-
Special Teams	A+	A+
Coaching	B+	A

Passing Offense

There were some concerns over quarterback Trevor Knight coming in. On Saturday, the redshirt sophomore didn’t do much to put those concerns to rest.

Knight threw for just 205 yards and an interception on 16-of-29 passing. It got worse in the second half, as he only threw for 62 yards.

Thankfully, Oklahoma had its rushing attack to lean on in this one.

Rushing Offense

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What more could be said about the Sooners' ground game on Saturday?

With leading rusher Keith Ford out, the burden fell down on Alex Ross and Samaje Perine to step up. Perine shouldered most of the load, rushing for an impressive 242 yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries. Ross did his part when called upon, adding another 56 yards on eight carries. 

When Ford returns, this will arguably be one of the toughest rushing attacks to slow down.

Passing Defense

The Oklahoma secondary was bombarded by Mountaineers quarterback Clint Trickett in the opening half. 

Trickett racked up the yards while the cornerbacks were constantly caught out of position and beat by their man. It was a brutal showing by a unit that began the season solidly.

The Sooners can use the bye week to work on their mistakes.

Rushing Defense

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Coming into this game, Oklahoma had yet to concede a rushing touchdown, limiting opposing offenses to under 90 yards rushing per game.

Although West Virginia found the end zone twice on the ground and ran for 137 yards, the Sooners front seven was stout once again. The Mountaineers only managed two rushes of over 10 yards and averaged a meager 3.4 yards per carry.

Good luck to any team that tries to run on these guys.

Special Teams

The obvious standout from this unit was Ross’ remarkable 100-yard kickoff return just before the half. 

But punter Jed Barnett deserves just as much credit. The senior booted six punts for an average of 47.8 yards per kick, pinning West Virginia inside its 20 once.

Placekicker Michael Hunnicutt deserves a shout out as well, as he surpassed DeMarco Murray as the all-time leading scorer in Oklahoma history.

Coaching

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The Sooners coaching staff got off to a rush start. 

Whether it was defensive coordinator Mike Stoops being unable to slow down Trickett or offensive coordinator Josh Heupel’s refusal to hand the ball to Samaje Perine early on, there were several questionable play-calling decisions. Fortunately, both seemed to turn things around in the second half.

Moving forward, Oklahoma will hope both don’t wait until the second half to get things rolling.

All stats courtesy of NCAA.com.

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