Sunday Morning Thoughts: Did We Write Off WVU Too Soon?

Final analysis on West Virginia's win over Oklahoma State.

William Purnell-Imagn Images

Following the collapse in the Backyard Brawl, things looked awful bleak for Neal Brown and West Virginia. Blowing a double-digit lead with a little over three minutes to go is one thing, but to have it happen against your bitter rival takes it to a whole other level.

Most, myself included, figured that game would be a sign of things to come for this year's team, especially with a very challenging Big 12 schedule waiting for them. But since the Mountaineers fell behind by 11 to Kansas, this looks like a completely different bunch. After what had transpired in Pittsburgh, I expected WVU to mail it in when the Jayhawks went up two scores. They didn't. They showed their resiliency and battled back to secure the win.

Going on the road to Stillwater, against a team they haven't had much success against, and a venue they haven't had much success in, on top of the fact that Mike Gundy doesn't lose three consecutive games very often, had me leaning toward the Cowboys getting off the schneid. They proved me wrong and did so with an exclamation mark.

If you had told me prior to the game that one team would outrush the other 389-36, I would have immediately thought this was the week that Ollie Gordon II got back on track, essentially repeating his performance from last year in Morgantown. Instead, it was the Mountaineers who dominated the trenches, paving the way for Jahiem White (158 yards), Garrett Greene (86 yards), CJ Donaldson (77 yards), and Nicco Marchiol (46 yards).

WVU's defense held Gordon in check, limiting him to just 50 yards on 13 carries before he left the game with an undisclosed injury. No, Gordon hasn't looked like the same back that he was a year ago which earned him the Doak Walker award and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, but he's still a dude and you never know when he's going to snap out of it.

Jordan Lesley's defense answered the bell on not only Gordon but the passing game as well. They were airtight in pass coverage on the majority of dropbacks and played the ball much better in the air. Alan Bowman threw a pair of picks and was yanked from the game in favor of Garret Rangel. Coming into the game, had the third-best passing attack in the league averaging over 320 yards per game. As much as this secondary and linebacking unit has struggled against the pass, they haven't let the negativity from the outside creep in. They just put their head down and went to work.

I think it's safe to say that not even the most optimistic West Virginia fan saw this type of dominant, complete game coming, especially on the road. I'm fully aware that Oklahoma State may not be a very good football team, but you still have to go out and get the job done, and they did so in a big way. Sure, there's still a lot of season left and the Mountaineers are just beginning to tap into the toughest part of the schedule. However, it's possible that we all overreacted to WVU's loss to Pitt.

The two teams the Mountaineers have lost to, Penn State and Pitt, are a combined 10-0. By this afternoon, they'll both be ranked inside the top 25 with the Panthers moving in. They very easily could have won one of those games. The more those two keep winning alongside West Virginia stacking wins in the Big 12, the more I start to believe the Mountaineers can be a true contender in the Big 12.

These next two games against Iowa State and Kansas State are massive for this team. If they're able to win both and move to 4-0, they provide themselves with some margin for error on the back end of the schedule which is expected to be much lighter. Even splitting the next two isn't the end of the world.

I have criticized Neal Brown and this staff many times, and I believe that criticism was fair. But I won't turn a blind eye to a fantastic coaching job and so for Saturday's game and really, the end of the Kansas game, I tip my hat to Brown and Co. They deserve some praise for getting this team to bounce back from a devastating loss to Pitt and have put themselves in a great position to make a run in the Big 12 portion of the schedule.

Life in the Big 12 is hard, folks. Enjoy the victories.

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