WVU's Keys to the Game vs Oklahoma

These three things should help lead West Virginia to a victory.

West Virginia looks to keep its bowl hopes alive this Saturday when they play host to the Oklahoma Sooners (5-4). A win would also mark the first time the Mountaineers have defeated the Sooners since becoming members of the Big 12 Conference?

How can they pull it off? Here are my three keys to the game.

Just play ball

There's a lot of negativity surrounding the program right now and rightfully so. That said, the coaching staff and the players have to do all they can to keep that noise on the outside and not let it creep into the building. There's no conference title on the line, there's nothing large at stake, so WVU just needs to go out, have fun playing the game again and good things will happen. When you feel the pressure, you start to press and typically, that doesn't produce the results needed to win.

JT Daniels returns to form

Last week was the worst outing of JT Daniels' short career at West Virginia as he completed just 8 of his 22 pass attempts for 81 yards. He was out of sync from the get-go and was unable to ever get in a groove. Everything about his game was off. His timing, his ball placement, pocket presence, decision-making, everything. With the running back room being as beat up as it is, WVU desperately need Daniels to return to form if they want any chance to defeat Oklahoma.

Be aggressive

This kind of goes hand in hand with the first key to the game. When you're 3-6, what do you have to lose? I would expect Neal Brown and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell have a more aggressive approach that features more downfield passes and more of a willingness to go for it on fourth down. 4th and 1 from your own 40? Why not? Roll the dice and make Oklahoma play four down defense.

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