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

In a conference opener featuring two undefeated squads, No. 15 Oklahoma was able to avoid the upset bid by No. 23 West Virginia, 44-24, maintaining its unblemished record in front of a home crowd at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. For further details, check out the NCAA box score HERE.

The Mountaineers entered the conference matchup with a nationally acclaimed defense but were unable to hold onto the ball, suffering five turnovers in the road loss. The Sooners aim to continue their streak in the annual Red River Rivalry against Texas at the Cotton Bowl next week, while West Virginia will host Oklahoma State in Morgantown. 

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

Pass Offense: Despite Baker Mayfield's second-half interception, the walk-on-turned-starter was deadly against the West Virginia defense all throughout the matchup. A complete first half featured 212 yards on 10-for-17 throwing and two scores, while the second was slightly less productive, as he went 4-for-8 for 108 yards and one touchdown, including a 71 yard dagger. 

Rush Offense: The Oklahoma rush attack was rather slow throughout the game, as running back Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon combined for 108 yards on 22 carries with just one score. Overall, the two backs best served as clock management assets, putting pressure on West Virginia as time ticked away.  

Pass Defense: Just a few minutes following the start of the second half, the Oklahoma defense seemed to have lost a step, as the Mountaineers mounted a comeback. Junior QB Skyler Howard found space for critical first downs, but pressure late in the game forced him into two interceptions and one fumble, all of which factored into sealing the game for the Sooners. 

Rush Defense: Similar to the pass defense in the second half, Oklahoma struggled to contain the West Virginia rushing attack, as RB Wendell Smallwood and Rushel Shell pushed them to the brink. However, the Mountaineers shied away from future handoffs, as turnovers forced more passing. 

Special Teams: The Oklahoma specials teams were relatively quiet, with kicker Austin Seibert nailing three field goals throughout the matchup. Other than those scores, the punts and kickoffs were solid, and returns performed well. 

Coaching: The sheer amount of penalties was enough to make any coach lose his mind, and one must give credit to Bob Stoops for keeping a relative cool on the sideline. In the first half alone, though, the Sooners accumulated 85 penalty yards, most of which came through personal fouls or unnecessary mental mistakes. And that's always on coaching. 

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

Pass Offense: After a hesitant first half, junior Skyler Howard performed admirably to start the second before completely falling to pieces. Statistically, Howard finished 17-of-32 for 173 yards and one touchdown, but three interceptions and two fumbles doomed the young quarterback to failure. 

Rush Offense: Statistics can't represent how important the rush attack was for West Virginia's second-half surge, but they can try. Overall, backs Rushel Shell and Wendell Smallwood combined for 42 carries, 183 yards and one score, but the true help was taking pressure off of Howard and giving the offense room to work the pass more effectively. 

Pass Defense: Oklahoma starter Baker Mayfield was indomitable throughout, committing a rare mistake with the second-half interception. However, the Mountaineer secondary was consistently burned by receivers, especially during crucial drives.  

Rush Defense: Compared to the pass defense, West Virginia contained the Sooner backs relatively well, allowing just 108 yards with one score. Further, Oklahoma never found true traction with its ground game, only fully utilizing it once the game was out of reach and Oklahoma needed to run out the clock. 

Special Teams: The Mountaineers were relatively flawless on special teams, with a few returned kickoffs serving as their only actual mistakes. Further, kicker Josh Lambert drilled an easy field goal early in the second half. 

Coaching: Similar to Oklahoma, the Mountaineers slogged through multiple penalties throughout the course of the game. While the total yardage was nowhere near the Sooners' final tally, many penalties came at inopportune times and forced punts, bad decisions or extended opposing drives.