Oklahoma vs. West Virginia: Score and Twitter Reaction

The Oklahoma Sooners' hopes of getting into the College Football Playoff mix received a huge boost Saturday thanks to their 56-28 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The 9-2 Sooners were ranked ninth in this week's CFP rankings, sandwiched between other two-loss teams such as the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers, No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions, No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes, No. 11 Oklahoma State Cowboys and No. 12 Utah Utes.

Oklahoma had the toughest matchup among that group Saturday, with West Virginia being ranked 14th.

Playing on a snow-covered field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Oklahoma wasted no time asserting its will. West Virginia helped the Sooners' cause when Gary Jennings fumbled a punt return after the opening possession.

Samaje Perine scored six plays later to help Oklahoma take a 7-0 lead. It was the first of three first-quarter touchdowns for the Sooners, with Dede Westbrook's 75-yard touchdown catch being one for the highlight reel:

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Westbrook is no stranger to finding the end zone on big plays this season:

With 100 receiving yards Saturday, Westbrook should be getting more Heisman Trophy love than he has to this point. His season total sits at 1,354 yards, with a game against Oklahoma State to close out the regular season and at least one bowl game coming up.

Per Sports-Reference.com, Trevor Insley holds the FBS single-season receiving record with 2,060 yards for Nevada in 1999. It's a long shot for Westbrook to get there, because he will likely need three games to do so, but he does have two games with over 200 receiving yards this season.

Dane Brugler of CBS Sports noted Westbrook's performance might be drawing attention in some professional circles:

Quarterback Baker Mayfield wasn't asked to do much, going 9-of-15 for 169 yards with four total touchdowns (two rushing), presumably because of the snow.

Turnovers and penalties tormented West Virginia later in the game. After the Mountaineers drove 83 yards on five plays early in the second quarter to get down to Oklahoma's 4-yard line, Justin Crawford was stripped by Jordan Evans, and the Sooners recovered.

West Virginia's defense forced a punt four plays later, but Marvin Gross Jr. was called for roughing the kicker to give Oklahoma a first down. Maurice Fleming was called for a personal foul two plays after that, giving the Sooners 15 more free yards.

Joe Mixon capped off that drive with a five-yard touchdown to help Oklahoma extend the lead to 28-0 less than 20 minutes into the game.

Chris Anderson of 247Sports turned West Virginia's miscues into a game:

On the Mountaineers' ensuing drive, they again got deep into Oklahoma territory, reaching the 3-yard line before quarterback Skyler Howard fumbled the snap for another turnover.

Gold and Blue Zone immediately wanted to forget Saturday's game and instead look ahead to what should be happier times:

West Virginia finally broke through on its final drive before halftime, when Howard hit Jovon Durante for a 20-yard touchdown to cap a 75-yard drive that took just six plays, with the ensuing extra point cutting the deficit to 34-7.

Putting together drives was never the problem for West Virginia, but an inability to finish left the Mountaineers in too big of a hole to climb out of.

As a result of those three turnovers in the first half, Oklahoma dominated the stat sheet with 357 total yards (241 rushing), 20 first downs and nearly 22 minutes of possession.

ESPN.com's Jake Trotter highlighted how well the Sooners' three top skill-position players fared in the first half:

Westbrook hitting the century mark was the biggest surprise since Mayfield had thrown only seven passes. At least the star wideout knows how to make the most of his opportunities.

Starting the second half, it was more of the same for West Virginia, with the Mountaineers getting into Oklahoma territory. But Howard stared down his receiver on a 4th-and-3 play, and Evans picked him off and returned it for a touchdown.

Oklahoma's Twitter account attempted to capture the mood of Sooners fans everywhere after Evans' score:

The Mountaineers offense was not held in check by the Sooners defense, finishing with 579 yards. West Virginia just couldn't get out of its own way.

Instead, Oklahoma turned four turnovers into 28 points and sits in the driver's seat for the Big 12 title.

West Virginia kept fighting in the second half, racking up yardage in droves and putting together touchdowns on three consecutive drives to cut the deficit to 41-28 with 10 minutes remaining.

Crawford, in particular, was brilliant after those early fumbles. The junior finished with an astounding 331 yards on 24 carries.

Per Anderson, Crawford finished the game just 13 rushing yards shy of West Virginia's single-game record:

Making Crawford's night more impressive, he came into Saturday with 599 rushing yards in his previous nine games this season.

Oklahoma's offense finally came back to life after its lead was cut to 13. The Sooners had just 41 yards on their first four second-half possessions before going 65 yards on 11 plays and putting the game away on Mayfield's one-yard keeper.

ESPN's Mike Greenberg made a keen observation about Oklahoma's win:

Ohio State's spot in the Top Four doesn't seem to be in danger heading into its clash against Michigan, but its narrow 17-16 win over Michigan State could have given the selection committee some pause.

Instead, with the Buckeyes holding a 45-24 win over the Sooners, their body of work looks more impressive.

Oklahoma likely still has work to do, because the only team ahead of the Sooners to lose this week was No. 5 Louisville. Fortunately, the Sooners will play another Top 15 team in two weeks, when they host Oklahoma State.

West Virginia's shot at reaching the playoff and earning the conference title is out the window. Head coach Dana Holgorsen will have to convince his team to forget about Saturday's loss quickly, knowing it still has a chance to play in a quality bowl game.

Post-Game Reaction

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops felt his team's ability to start the game on a high note set the tone for what was to come. 

"It was really a good way to come out, really focused," Stoops said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "That's how you want to start an important game on the road."

Looking ahead to Bedlam, Stoops admitted having the opportunity to win a Big 12 title at home was enticing. 

"It will be exciting to be on our field playing for a Big 12 championship," Stoops said. "It's as good as it gets."

Oklahoma assistant coach Dennis Simmons made sure West Virginia heard his voice after the win, speaking out due to the teams getting involved in several skirmishes before and during the game:

"

This is what happens when you want to try and act hard #West Virginia!!!! It hasn't worked out to good for you #OUDNA!!!!! https://t.co/9zcVbd6KdP

— Dennis Simmons (@CoachSimmonsOU) November 20, 2016"

Holgorsen also spoke on the issues between the two teams: "They invented intimidation...that's been their M.O. for a long time," per Spenser Daily of OUDaily.com.

When addressing the Mountaineers' performance on the field, Holgorsen didn't try to make excuses for what happened. 

"I thought we were ready to play," Holgorsen said, per the AP (via the Oklahoman). "You can't make mistakes against a good football team."