Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Loss to West Virginia
Another week, another disastrous loss for Oklahoma.
The Sooners dropped their second consecutive game on Saturday 23-20 to West Virginia to fall back down to .500 on the season at 5-5 and an ugly 2-5 in Big 12 play.
The Mountaineers, who entered the day in dead last in the conference standings, manage to stymie the OU passing game enough throughout the day and come through with big conversions when they needed them offensively to beat the Sooners for the first time since WVU entered the Big 12.
Oklahoma ran the ball extremely effectively once again with Eric Gray, but otherwise are left looking for answers once more after this latest debacle.
Discipline Remains an Issue
Brent Venables discussed at length a lack of discipline as being a major issue with Oklahoma after last week’s loss to Baylor.
On Saturday in Morgantown, little, if anything, had changed as the Sooners were frequently bit by untimely penalties and just generally inexcusable mistakes.
Oklahoma’s inability to get off the field on key downs cropped up again against the Mountaineers as West Virginia went 4-for-5 on fourth down conversions including a fake punt where numerous Sooners seemed to be in position to make the play.
Two OU penalties led directly to WVU first downs to extend drives, with an offsides penalty against Jordan Kelley being particularly painful in the eventual game-winning drive.
As Venables said a week ago, discipline had been something stressed by the coaching staff since they took over last December.
But, despite that, the Sooners continue to shoot themselves in the foot when it matters most - which makes things very difficult to win football games.
Another Questionable Fourth Down Decision
Last week, Oklahoma had a chance to go for a fourth down to open the fourth quarter, but elected to punt instead.
Baylor then took the ball down the field for a touchdown, putting the Sooners severely behind the eight ball in trying to make a comeback.
Another big fourth down spot presented itself on Saturday with Oklahoma holding the ball at the West Virginia 29-yard line needing three yards to pick up a first down.
But, with just over six minutes left to play, Venables elected to attempt a 46-yard field goal through a driving rainstorm rather than trusting his offense to get the yardage.
Zach Schmit then missed the kick, his second of the day, with West Virginia regaining possession. The Mountaineers then took the ball down the field, drained the clock, and kicked a game-winning field goal.
This is two consecutive games where Oklahoma did not trust their offense in a big spot and it immediately hurting them, with this one being even more costly than a week ago.
Given the weather conditions, the decision to go for the field goal rather than trying to pick up the three yards will be heavily scrutinized in the week ahead.
Dillon Gabriel Struggles Continue, Eric Gray Stays Hot
While the Oklahoma running game with Eric Gray remains extremely effect, the passing game with quarterback Dillon Gabriel was a tick off once again.
Gabriel didn’t turn the ball over on Saturday, but did miss several open throws that could have been big plays.
On the afternoon, he finished having completed just 17 of his 28 passes for a measly 190 yards and no touchdowns - certainly a far cry from what he or offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby are expecting to do through the air.
On the other end of the spectrum, Gray continues to be Oklahoma’s greatest weapon and certainly one of the very best players on the entire roster.
The Tennessee transfer ran for an outstanding 211 yards on Saturday at 8.4 yards per carry with a pair of touchdowns.
But, this all ties back to the never-ending conversation of “complimentary football” being so elusive for OU this season. Oklahoma simply has to find a way to get both the passing and rushing attack humming at the same time to be as effective as they want to be on offense.
The Sooners haven't been able to get quite totally in sync for a full sixty minutes in recent weeks, and that has now contributed to back-to-back losses.
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the AllSooners message board community today!
Sign up for your premium membership to AllSooners.com today, and get access to the entire Fan Nation premium network!
Follow AllSooners on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest OU news.
Get your OU tickets from SI Tickets HERE.
