Oklahoma-West Virginia: Our Picks

The AllSooners staff offers our picks on Saturday's game in Morgantown between the Sooners and the Mountaineers.

John Hoover

The Oklahoma offense has committed seven turnovers in the last three games — six of those from quarterback Dillon Gabriel. If OU can clean those up in Morgantown, expect a comfortable Sooner victory. If not, West Virginia’s offense is explosive enough to hang 40 or more on the Oklahoma defense. This figures to be a shootout — aren’t they all in Milan-Puskar Stadium? — because the Sooners haven’t stopped anyone all year, but the Mountaineers’ defense is also shaky. OU has won all nine meetings since WVU joined the Big 12, but the Sooners’ streak will be in jeopardy if the offense doesn’t carry the team again. WVU ran just 49 offensive plays last week in a 31-14 loss at Iowa State, but the Cyclones’ defense and the Sooners’ defense don’t look much alike. The Mountaineers will have an easier time moving the football this week.

Final score: Oklahoma 41, WVU 38

Ryan Chapman

The Sooners dropped a frustrating game last week, but the offensive success was still there. If Oklahoma can simply limit its turnovers, Eric Gray and the OU running game can put a large point total on the board. JT Daniels has given opponents the chance to pick him off this year, throwing eight interceptions, and if the Sooners can just be passable on the ground then the defense will make enough plays to beat one of the worst teams in the Big 12.

Final score: OU 42, WVU 31

Josh Callaway

West Virginia has been a completely different team in Morgantown as opposed to on the road. Despite their record and their standing in the Big 12, beating the Mountaineers will not be an easy task for an Oklahoma team that right now can't seem to get out of their own way. But, this is simply a game the Sooners have to win. On the road or not, West Virginia is in last place in the conference and pretty clearly the worst team in the league. Their coach is on the hot seat, and their season has largely been a disaster. If OU rolls in there and leaves with yet another loss, Oklahoma's season moves into complete disaster territory of their own if it isn't there already. JT Daniels and the Mountaineers offense will get points on the board but Dillon Gabriel and the OU offense, if they can stay away from a bunch of turnovers like last week, should be able to win the shootout. This is a gut check game for the Sooners, they absolutely can't drop this one and go back down to .500 before Bedlam next weekend. We will find out a bit of what Oklahoma is made of in this game.

Final score: Oklahoma 45, West Virginia 38

Ross Lovelace

The Sooners seem to be easing players back from injury weekly, and as the final stretch of the season is quickly approaching, it’s now all hands on deck. Billy Bowman has worked his way back to playing time, although not starting, and should continue to ramp up his snap count, which is massive for Oklahoma’s defense. JT Daniels has been careless with the football over the last four weeks, and even though Oklahoma’s defense has struggled mightily, the secondary has come up with a few key interceptions. If the Sooners defense can force a turnover or two early, the rushing attack has been good enough to take Oklahoma the distance on Saturday. The Sooners need to finish strong not only to salvage what’s left of this year, but at this point, more losses would add to the negativity heading into next season too. The sense of desperation will be interesting to see this weekend.

Final score: Oklahoma 45, West Virginia 27