Tag: West Virginia Mountaineers Football

Social media reacts to Oklahoma Sooners big win over West Virginia

Dillon Gabriel, Drake Stoops, and the Oklahoma Sooners had huge days in their win over West Virginia, and here’s how social media reacted.

That’s what they call a palate cleanser.

After two weeks of poor execution, unforced errors, untimely penalties, poor play calling, and poor officiating, that’s just what the Oklahoma Sooners needed.

The Sooners thoroughly dominated West Virginia. Sure, the Mountaineers scored 20 points, but this is a team that was averaging 37.75 points per game over their last four games. WVU had the No. 7 rushing attack. And even though they gave up some runs, the Sooners’ defense put them in 2nd and 3rd and long situations enough to be able to force Garrett Greene to beat them with his arm.

And we saw how poorly that worked out for West Virginia.

As well as the defense played, it was the Oklahoma Sooners offense that was the story. Dillon Gabriel passed Colt Brennan for 10th all-time in career passing yards and then set a new Oklahoma record for touchdowns in a game with eight.

Drake Stoops followed up his career day in Bedlam with another career day in Oklahoma’s win.

The offense was back on track, didn’t turn the ball over, and the defense played sound football and the Sooners still have Big 12 title aspirations, even if they do need a lot of help to get there.

It was a dominating win for the Sooners and here’s how social media reacted.

Oklahoma vs. West Virginia Mountaineers: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Sooners Wire Staff Predictions for Oklahoma’s matchup with the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Even in their two-game losing streak, the Oklahoma Sooners have shown signs of an improved football team. Obviously, it hasn’t been perfect, and there are things they have to improve, but there are encouraging signs.

But those encouraging signs won’t mean as much if the Sooners can’t correct the issues that have plagued them in recent weeks.

Self-inflicted wounds hurt the Sooners in tight games. If they avoid untimely penalties and protect the football better, they’ll put themselves in a position to snap their two-game skid.

The Oklahoma Sooners played a good defensive game a year ago in Morgantown, but struggled to contain Garrett Greene after he replaced J.T. Daniels at quarterback. It was Green’s ability to run the football that killed the Sooners, especially late in the game after West Virginia ran a ton of plays and kept a tired Sooners’ defense on the field for 93 plays.

Better depth, in particular at linebacker should allow their defensive guys to stay fresh as the Mountaineers attempt to slow the pace again and run a ton of plays.

But who wins the game? Let’s take a look at this week’s staff predictions.

‘They’re all correctable mistakes’: Dillon Gabriel believes the offense can right the ship

The offense has made a ton of mistakes the last few weeks but Dillon Gabriel believes all of the miscue are correctable.

The last two weeks, the Oklahoma Sooners offense has played a major part in the losses. The offense has turned it over five times and has a number of pre-snap penalties that have killed drives.

They also haven’t been able to close close games in the fourth quarter like they were able to do earlier in the season. Dillon Gabriel was once considered a Heisman contender but has since fallen out of that discussion.

He didn’t play poorly against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Against the Kansas Jayhawks, his play-caller took the ball out of his hands for much of the game. Now, it’s time to bounce back.

Gabriel said he feels a lot of their mistakes can be corrected. “I do, I think they’re all correctable mistakes,” Gabriel said. “Things that we just let slip. Like I said, we took our turns, and whatever mistakes we did make. I’m not saying we’ve got to play perfect. You’ve got to be really detailed. Try to take care of every opportunity when it’s presented, score, and get ahead.”

The West Virginia Mountaineers rank No. 61 in the country in total defense. They aren’t a defense that excels at one particular thing. They are pretty good at both stopping the run and defending the pass. They’re No. 57 in run defense and No. 61 against the pass.

This will be the best defense they’ve faced since the Cotton Bowl. In all three games, the offense has struggled since Oklahoma’s win over Texas. Can they buck that trend Saturday?

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Updated look at Oklahoma’s win probability for final three games according to ESPN Matchup Predictor

Can the Sooners rebound from their two-game losing streak? The ESPN Matchup Predictor still likes the Sooners a lot.

The next three opponents for the Oklahoma Sooners hold a unique distinction. They each hold the last win in the all-time series.

TCU and West Virginia beat the Sooners in 2022. BYU is one of the few teams in college football that the Sooners haven’t beaten. The Cougars are one of six current teams Oklahoma is winless against.

The six include Georgia (I know, don’t remind you), Ole Miss (2024 opponent), Indiana (thanks for Dasan McCullough), Illinois, Navy, and BYU.

The Sooners have a chance to right some wrongs over the final three games of the season if they can win out. Don’t let West Virginia, BYU, or TCU join the group of Big 12 teams that hold a win in the final matchup over the Sooners. Teams like Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State.

At 7-2 with three games remaining, a 10-win season is within their grasp. Fighting to establish their identity matters as well. Going out on a high not in their final season in the Big 12 is a necessity.

Here’s how the ESPN Matchup Predictor sees the remainder of the Sooners’ schedule playing out.

Big 12 Bowl Projections: Sooners face Utes in latest from USA TODAY Sports

After two straight losses, the Sooners are headed to the Alamo Bowl in latest USA TODAY Sports bowl projections.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had a good year. In the midst of a two-game losing streak, that may not be the thing we want to talk about, but they’ve been good. Good enough to get to the College Football Playoff? No. To make the Big 12 title game? That’s not completely off the table.

They’ve made improvements on the defensive side of the ball, in particular, that provide enough encouragement that this program is heading in the right direction. In 2022, the Sooners allowed their opponents to score more than 30 points seven times. In 2023, that’s only happened twice.

The Sooners still have a lot to play for. Drake Stoops, a player who’s become synonymous with “OUDNA,” said as much when he met with the media.

With three games remaining, the Sooners have a chance to make a statement. They can show off the resiliency that’s been a characteristic of this team in 2023. And in those three games, continue to make strides as a football program.

As for where their postseason fate lies, here’s where Big 12 programs are headed in the latest bowl projections from USA TODAY Sports.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Cowboys emerge from Bedlam title contenders

Updated Big 12 power rankings. Conference starting to sort itself out with just a few weeks remaining in the regular season.

In the wake of Week 10’s results, the Big 12 has found its favorites for the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas.

Though there are still several weeks to go in conference play, the Oklahoma State Cowboys walked out of Bedlam in control of their path to the game. Their win over Oklahoma put them in a tie for first place with the Longhorns at 5-1, and they have a very favorable remaining schedule.

Oklahoma State finishes the season at UCF, at Houston, and at home vs. BYU in their regular season finale. Those three teams have a combined conference record of 5-13.

The Cowboys are a far different team than the one that was blown out at home by South Alabama.

With their controversial win over Oklahoma and Texas’ win over Kansas State, the front-runners for the conference title game have emerged. It’s not impossible for Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma or Iowa State to find their way to Arlington, but they’ll need help along the way to make the trip to the DFW Metroplex.

Here’s a look at this week’s Big 12 power rankings.

Updated look at the ESPN matchup predictor after Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas

How did ESPN’s Matchup Predictor win probabilities change after the Oklahoma Sooners loss to the Kansas Jayhawks?

This week’s loss to the Kansas Jayhawks was a setback in Oklahoma’s journey to the Big 12 title game. While a setback, it doesn’t take anything off the table for the Sooners.

They’re still in a good spot to make the title game. They simply have to take care of business.

However, it would be hard not to be concerned about the Sooners after what we’ve seen the last couple of weeks. Admittedly, the Kansas Jayhawks have a good offense and are a good football team. They’re not the Jayhawks of old.

Still, it puts the Sooners in a situation where they have no margin for error if they want to get back to the Big 12 title game or play for something meaningful in the postseason.

After the loss, here’s a look at how the ESPN matchup predictor views the rest of the Sooners schedule.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Sooners loss to Jayhawks shakes up the top of the conference

Big 12 power rankings are a mess after the Kansas Jayhawks knock off the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Kansas Jayhawks upset win over the Oklahoma Sooners was their first since 1997 after an 18-game losing streak against OU. It showed off the strong direction their program is heading under Lance Leipold and added another team to the Big 12 title race mix.

While the Sooners are still in first place in the Big 12 due to tiebreakers, there are currently five teams with a 4-1 record in Big 12 play and two more teams (West Virginia and Kansas) that are one game back of first place at 3-2.

The depth of the Big 12 is starting to reveal itself as teams begin to beat up on each other. Week 9 provides a semifinals of sorts for the Big 12 title game with Kansas State traveling to Austin to take on Texas and Oklahoma State hosting the Sooners in Stillwater for Bedlam. The teams that come out of this weekend with a win will have the best shot to make the Big 12 title game.

Updated look at the ESPN matchup predictor after the Sooners win over UCF

How does the ESPN Matchup Predictor see the rest of the Oklahoma Sooners 2023 schedule playing out?

At 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12, the Oklahoma Sooners are in the driver’s seat for a Big 12 title game berth and possibly more. But as Saturday against UCF showed, each week is going to be a challenge.

We’ve seen in recent years that the Big 12 provides stumbling blocks along the way for any team attempting an undefeated run. This year is no different.

Heading into the 2023 season, many thought the Oklahoma Sooners’ schedule had few difficult matchups. Just over halfway through the season, games against Kansas, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and BYU look far more difficult than they once did. While TCU may not look like it has a lot going for them after a 41-3 loss to Kansas State, much could change for the Horned Frogs in the next five weeks to make them a serious challenger.

The Oklahoma Sooners simply have to take it one game at a time and show up for each matchup ready to roll. If they are locked in, they’re as good as any team in the conference and nearly every team in the nation.

Let’s take a look at how the win probabilities shifted via the ESPN matchup predictor after Week 8.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Kansas State blows out TCU, Oklahoma State is for real

The contenders in the Big 12 have begun to establish themselves after week 8 action. Here’s a look at the updated Big 12 Power Rankings.

Week 8 in the Big 12 began to reveal which teams will be contenders for the final five weeks of the regular season.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are the favorites to meet in the Big 12 title game, but several other teams are making their case.

Big 12 play has been wild through the first half of the schedule, but we’re beginning to see some separation from the contenders and the pretenders.

Here are this week’s Big 12 power rankings.