Oklahoma-West Virginia Observations: AllSooners LIVE In-Game Blog

John Hoover, Ryan Chapman and Josh Callaway offer their real-time observations from the Sooners' game at West Virginia.

MORGANTOWN, WV — Unranked Oklahoma continues Big 12 Conference play today with a noon ET kickoff against the West Virginia Mountaineers in Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday. AllSooners has two reporters on site to cover the game and two more in Norman monitoring the action.

This live blog will be updated throughout Saturday's contest. Newest posts appear at the top. Simply refresh your browser to see the latest posts.

(ALL TIMES EASTERN)

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3:54 p.m.

Final: WVU finally beats Oklahoma. Been that kind of season for OU.

-- JH

3:53 p.m.

Final stats:

3:25 p.m.

Egregious missed tackle by Danny Stutsman there for that first down. Oklahoma is on life support. 

- JC

3:14 p.m.

Stunned that Oklahoma didn't try to pick up that fourth down, just way too far of a field goal to attempt in weather conditions like that. Head-scratching decision. 

- JC

3:12 p.m.

In these conditions, kicking a field goal of any distance is treacherous. After a great drive by Eric Gray, the drive stalls and Brent Venables shows faith in Zach Schmit. I thought a fake might be coming, but Venables opts for the kick, and his faith is punished as Schmit bangs the ball high off the right upright.

It's still 20-20, and we're heading for something insane.

— JH

2:54 p.m.

You want discipline?

On fourth-and-long, OU jumps offsides, but Greene throws an interception to CJ Coldon in the end zone. The play appears to be wiped out on both sides when a late hit in the end zone.

Ultimately, Coldon’s knee was ruled not to have touched the turf, and Greene scoots again into the corner of the end zone to tie the game at 20-20 with 11:20 to play.

This game is certifiable.

— JH

2:56 p.m.

Mind is blown that they picked up that late hit flag, Coldon was clearly kneeling it as he took the shot form behind. Wild call. 

- JC

2:48 p.m.

Third quarter stats:

— JH

2:47 p.m.

Third quarter is over. Sooners lead by a touchdown.

— JH

2:46 p.m.

Great call on fourth down there to run the fake punt, and WVU executed it for the first down. The Sooners had their regular punt return unit on and were simply caught with their pants down.

— JH

2:41 p.m.

An absolutely vital and authoritative drive by the Oklahoma offense there. Eric Gray ran for 7, 5, 21, 3 and 5 yards, and Dillon Gabriel completed passes of 8 and 10 yards to Marvin Mims. OU answers, and Gabriel’s push on the 2-point conversion gives OU a 20-13 lead with 1:22 to play in the third quarter.

— JH

2:27 p.m.

Bryce Ford-Wheaton catches a touchdown pass from Garrett Greene over Woodi Washington, and it's 13-12 WVU.

On the play previous, David Ugwoegbu batted down Greene's throw at the line of scrimmage. If Ugwoegbu hadn't knocked it down, Billy Bowman probably was going to intercept it and might have returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.

Wow, what a flip of momentum.

— JH

2:16 p.m.

Today's attendance is announced ads 50,281. I'm seeing a lot more than 10,000 empty seats. Just saying.

— JH

2:13 p.m.

After a dizzying finish to the first half, the Oklahoma defense gets quick stop the begin the third quarter, and now the Sooners are driving.

This may go as one of the underrated plays of the game: Dillon Gabriel was hit, the ball was swiped out, and he immediately pounced on it.

— JH

1:46 p.m.

Halftime stats:

— JH

1:45 p.m.

Halftime. What a finish.

— JH

1:40 p.m.

And ... what another turn of even more events.

Robert Spears-Jennings crashes into the WVU holder and the ball is batted around before Billy Bowman scoops it up and returns it for a 2-point conversion runback. 

It was 3-0 like two minutes ago. Sooners somehow now lead this thing 12-6. 

— JH

1:39 p.m.

And … what a turn of more events.

Lifeless WVU gets a 42-yard kickoff return on Zach Schmit’s short kickoff, and the Mountaineers score on Garrett Greene's long run and short touchdown. It’s 10-6.

— JH

1:34 p.m.

What a turn of events. Eric Gray gets the Sooners off the goal line with two big runs after a fabulous WVU punt, then Marvin Mims hauls in a 67-yard reception on a perfect deep ball from Gabriel. On the next play, Gray takes it 12 yards for a touchdown and OU leads it 10-0 with 66 seconds to go until halftime.

— JH

1:34 p.m.

Broadcast notes that Eric Gray has crossed 1,000 yards for the season. 

- JC

1:32 p.m.

Danny Stutsman has been absolutely everywhere today, massive bounce back game for him so far. 

- JC

1:31 p.m.

Huge play by the OU defense: facing third-and-7 from the OU 28, Danny Stutsman and Reggie Grimes break through the right side of the offensive line to sack JT Daniels. Couldn’t tell if that was a designed delayed blitz or just a reaction by Stutsman. Great play.

— JH

1:29 p.m.

By the way, Dashaun White returned soon after his injury. He just came up and laid a big hit on Bryce Ford-Wheaton.

— JH

1:27 p.m.

Broiles appears animated as he walks off, possibly emotional, and all his teammates come up and pat him on the helmet. That doesn't look good.

— JH

1:24 p.m. 

Jeffery Johnson drops Tony Mathis for a 2-yard loss on second down, but on third-and-12, JT Daniels takes advantage of an OU coverage bust somewhere between Damond Harmon and C.J. Coldon. Sam James takes it 29 yards for a first down. Daniels was run into by his own running back before releasing that throw, which shows it probably should have never happened.

Justin Broiles is injured on the play. Still down on the turf.

— JH

1:19 p.m.

More discipline issues: Fourth and 1 and right guard Savion Byrd flinches (Andrew Raym was the one called). So on fourth-and-6, Gabriel’s pass is knocked down at the line of scrimmage.

Sooners cling tenuously to a 3-0 lead, 5:36 til halftime.

— JH

1:18 p.m.

Looking on television replays, it sure looks like Jalil Farooq landed on his tackler and extended to the marker. Really close to a potential first down.

- JC

1:15 p.m.

Dillon Gabriel lays a perfect deep throw to Marvin Mims and Mims drops it at the 5. Would have been a walk-in touchdown. Probably Gabriel's best deep ball in a month. I get it's raining and all, but the OU passing game is riddled with dysfunction.

— JH

1:13 p.m.

Woodi Washington forces a Tony Mathis fumble and Jordan Kelley recovers. Sooners have firsthand 10 from the OU 27, 7:28 til halftime.

— JH

1:11 p.m.

Garrett Greene finished WVU’s last drive, but JT Daniels is back in for this one. After a couple of positive plays, David Ugwoegbu and Dashaun White collide on a hard tackle and White appears to be dinged up. He went off the field under his own power. He’s replaced by Justin Harrington.

— JH

1:11 p.m.

DaShaun White is one of the last guys Oklahoma can really afford to lose. Sooners have to be hoping it's just a stinger and he'll be back in there as soon as possible. 

- JC

1:04 p.m

Schmit’s 32-yard field goal is good, and the Sooners take a 3-0 lead. Sooners are 4-1 when they score first this year, 1-3 when they don't.

— JH

1:03 p.m.

The throw to Willis is ruled to have been beyond the line of scrimmage, which initiates the offensive pass interference call.

Sooners face 3rd and 16 from the 21. Gabriel scrambles for 6, and here comes a field goal.

— JH

12:59 p.m.

And there's Jovantae Barnes' first carry in three weeks. Good to see him back. 

Touchdown pass from Dillon Gabriel to Brayden Willis (which is incorrectly announced in the press box as D.J. Graham). There's a call for offensive pass interference, but officials say the ball was caught at or behind the line of scrimmage, which would be no PI.

Now there's a review of whether the pass was flat or backward.

— JH

12:58 p.m.

As a light fog and heavier rain hovers over Milan Puskar Stadium, it’s getting harder to see the events unfolding on the field. From here, it looked dubious that Gray got that first down, unless he reached the ball across the first down line to gain.

Gray responds with a 54-yard run right up the gut and is brought down at the WVU 16. Sooners are threatening.

— JH

12:54 p.m.

Broadcast crew is, apparently, doing the game remotely and will also be on the call for Kansas State-Baylor tonight. I have never seen that before. 

- JC

12:45 p.m.

First quarter stats:

— JH

12:44 p.m.

First quarter is scoreless. So much for the shootout we all predicted.

— JH

12:43 p.m.

When Marcus Stripling slants inside from his defensive end position, as he did the previous two plays, it’s creating massive running lanes for Greene, who’s just eating it up. OU coaches have to get that fixed.

— JH

12:40 p.m.

WVU just changed quarterbacks to Garrett Greene. Not sure for how long. Greene has played in six games this year, and he’s 8-of-15 for 103 yards with one TD and no INTs.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, came into today with four quarterback sacks in its last six games.

— JH

12:39 p.m.

Dillon Gabriel is going to have to find a groove soon if Oklahoma is going to win this game. After a decent start to the opening drive, he's missed multiple open receivers. Lot of game left, but an ugly start for the OU signal caller. 

- JC

12:37 p.m.

Not just a ton of sustained offense today guys. Marvin Mims just dropped a pass on first down, and Dillon Gabriel overthrew him on second. Gabriel gets sacked on third down and it's another OU punt.

— JH

12:33 p.m.

On third down, JT Daniels gets man coverage across the board, but the Sooner DBs are up to the task and he’s forced to eat a sack. Great effort there by Danny Stutsman to create the pressure, and great finish by Ethan Downs for the sack. That’s Downs’ first sack since Nebraska.

— JH

12:34 p.m.

Oklahoma actually generating a pass rush is a heck of a sight. The OU offense will find it eventually, if they keep getting West Virginia behind the chains - they will undoubtedly be in good shape. 

- JC

12:28 p.m.

Trevon West just rammed into WVU’s punt returner on what would have been a great punt and poor field position for the Mountaineers. Those are the kind of mistakes that Brent Venables attributes to discipline. Totally avoidable.

— JH

12:28 p.m.

FS1 broadcast is completely in shambles right now, zero clue what down it is. Fun stuff. 

- JC

12:23 p.m.

The West Virginia fans are groaning every time the Mountaineers run the football on early downs.

Clearly JT Daniels has not inspired their confidence either as they’ve already turned on him just two drives into this one.

Bad vibes all around from the fanbase today.

— RC 

12:21 p.m.

Before that throw into the turf by JT Daniels, Tony Mathis had a cutback lane on second down but Isaiah Coe crushed him — broken thumb and all.

— JH 

12:18 p.m.

Most of the pre-snap movement from the Oklahoma defense appears to be uncertainty on where to be. David Ugwoegbu is turning and shouting to Danny Stutsman and DaShaun White, who’s talking to the secondary and jumping around before making his final move. I think there’s some guessing going on with the calls, and that’s why there have been some big gaps already in the ground game.

Remember, this is where Tavon Austin rushed for 344 and Justin Crawford rushed for 331 against the Sooners.

— JH

12:19 p.m.

Brent Venables: not a fan of that spot.

- JC

12:15 p.m.

Tempo worked so well for Oklahoma that first drive that Jeff Lebby went back to it immediately, and it backfired. A really quick three-and-out, ended by a 4-yard TFL by Jasir Cox on a throw to Eric Gray and WVU has the ball back inside their 10.

— JH

12:12 p.m.

Wow, Oklahoma gets the first turnover of the day. Danny Stutsman ends a promising WVU drive when Reggie Grimes fights through a block and pressures JT Daniels into a dreadful fourth-down throw over the middle. 12:17 first quarter rand the Sooners ar win business at the OU 48. Great effort by Grimes.

— JH

12:10 p.m.

Remember Brent Venables was talking about Jeff Lebby simplifying things a bit this week? Well that drive was rolling with easy throws and Eric Gray run plays, then stalled out after a Dillon Gabriel run and two missed passes over the top. Got away from what was working. 

- JC

12:08 p.m.

Good drive stalls. Zach Schmit on for a 54-yard field goal. Sooners call timeout. I was watching Schmit in the pregame and he was coming up short from this very distance, 54 yards.

Predictably, this one is short.

-- JH

12:04 p.m.

Well that was interesting. Oklahoma came out with five offensive linemen per usual, with six skill position guys lined up flat in the backfield right behind them. Then they motioned into their positions (three to the right, two to the left and Dillon Gabriel in the middle) and Jeff Lebby gets going at turbo speed.

— JH

11:51 a.m.

And here comes the weather. 

The wind has picked up a bit, it’s started to mist and it feels like it’s dropped 10 degrees over the last 15 minutes.

— RC

11:43 a.m.

Driving into the stadium today, we got behind a car with Virginia plates and had a frame that declared the driver an “OU alumni.” I don’t expect a huge amount of Sooner fans here today. Plus, it’s just nasty weather today.

— JH

11:43 a.m.

Not sure if it’s the weather, the current state of the program or a mix of both, but the atmosphere in the stadium isn’t great. 

Milan Puskar Stadium has filled in a bit more since OU left the field, but it was sparse and no real jarring from the fans in the direction of the Sooners during warm ups.

Here’s a peek at the stands as OU left the field.

The crowd in Morgantown 25 minutes before kick…#Sooners pic.twitter.com/DjfOkxxIy2

— Ryan Chapman (@_RyanChapman) November 12, 2022

— RC

11:41 a.m.

We’re 21 minutes from kickoff and the stadium is about 20 percent full. Oklahoma coming to Milan-Puskar is usually a massive draw, but for a 3-6 team hosting a 5-4 team, I get why they’re still in the parking lots tailgating.

— JH

11:27 a.m.

Watching the defensive backs go through pregame “thud” drills, where they’re one on one and it’s about a half-speed, half-contact tackle, then they stop after the “thud”. Most guys are just kind of bumping into each other. Justin Harrington is actually getting his man off the ground and sending them in the other direction. He’s got such natural strength and explosion. I know he’s not playing a ton this year, but I think the NFL will be intrigued by his ability.

— JH

11:24 a.m.

Looks like the starting secondary will be Woodi Washington, C.J. Coldon, Billy Bowman and Justin Broiles. Expect Justin Harrington to play a lot as well.

— JH

11:22 a.m.

A few of freshmen are here who haven’t played much (remember the Big 12’s limit on travel roster): Jamarrian Burt and Kobie McKinzie. Kip Lewis also here with the linebackers group.

— JH

11:18 a.m.

Jaden Davis and Key Lawrence are not warming up and stretching yet. That would be a big hit for the OU secondary if they didn’t make the trip.

— JH

11:03 a.m.

Running back Jovantae Barnes is warming up with the early group. He’s missed the last two games with a hamstring injury and would be a big part of today’s game plan if he’s healthy enough to play.

— JH

10:52 a.m.

Oklahoma quarterback have arrived on the field for their pregame stretching routine. They’re in the end zone with Jeff Lebby and a bunch of stretching bands and medicine balls.

It’s the usual four: Dillon Gabriel, Nick Evers, General Booty and Davis Beville.

— JH

10:50 a.m.

It’s 52 degrees and extremely gray here in Morgantown today. No wind, but we’re expecting rain throughout the second half. We’re told it’s the remnants of the tropical storm that just came up the coast from Florida. Supposedly was 75 and sunny here yesterday, although as we were flying into Pittsburgh around 5:30, it had been raining all day (which made for a difficult landing).

— JH

10:47 a.m.

Oklahoma DBs and TEs just jogged off the field to get suited up. Just a cursory look, I didn’t notice anyone missing.

— JH

10:10 a.m. 

Good morning. Still more than two hours to kickoff and several OU coaches and staffers have arrived onto the field. Most are taking pictures, as this is their first time here. DeMarco Murray seems to be on a FaceTime call, possibly with a recruit.

— JH