West Virginia and Oklahoma State enter Saturday night’s Big 12 opener in Morgantown with a lot more than conference standings on the line. Both teams are hanging around the Top 25 conversation, both are scoring in bunches, and both arrive with enough offensive firepower to turn this into a track meet.
The Cowboys bring the league’s top offense into the game, averaging 528.0 yards per outing and 306.3 through the air. West Virginia counters with a rushing attack that leads the Big 12 at 281.3 yards per game. On paper, it’s strength against strength, and both teams are putting up more than 35 points a game.
West Virginia, third among teams also receiving votes in this week’s Associated Press poll, is off to its best start since 2018, when it opened 5-0. The Mountaineers handled then-No.
25 Virginia 38-27 last Saturday in Charlotte, N.C., and Michael Hawkins Jr. was at the center of everything. The former Oklahoma quarterback accounted for all five touchdowns, throwing for two scores and going 10-for-17 for 190 yards while adding three more on the ground.
He finished with a career-best 123 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Cam Cook also delivered a big day for West Virginia, running 30 times for 123 yards.
Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris knows the challenge his defense is facing, especially against a Mountaineers backfield that can hit in multiple ways.
"Missed tackles will kill you, and when you're fitting this run game up, and it's not just Hawkins," he said. "Cook's a really, really dynamic back."
The Cowboys, who received the fifth-most votes among unranked teams, are trying to stop two ugly streaks at once. They have dropped 18 straight conference games and 11 straight road games, their longest road skid since a run of 15 consecutive losses from October 1934 to November 1936.
Still, Oklahoma State has shown some life after opening with a loss at Tulsa. The Cowboys stunned Oregon and then followed that up by rolling past Murray State 59-0 last Saturday. Drew Mestemaker was sharp before sitting in the third quarter, completing 20 of 22 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns.
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said Oklahoma State’s response after that early setback has been telling.
"The first game is always the hardest, especially if you got like they did a whole bunch of new players. ... They come out the next game and just from the jump, jump all over Oregon, it tells you a lot about how they've turned that program into where it is," Rodriguez said.
In Other News...
WVU Just Added A New Back To An Already Crowded Rotation
West Virginias running back room is getting even more crowded as Rich Rodriguez adds another experienced piece for the 2026 roster. Former Utah back NaQuari Rogers is headed to Morgantown after already spending time at Campbell and New Mexico, giving the Mountaineers a veteran transfer with stops across multiple levels of college football.
Rogers arrival came after he was granted a preliminary injunction in Indiana that allowed his transfer to move forward, but there is still a question hanging over his immediate future. The uncertainty now is when hell actually be cleared to suit up for games, leaving WVU with another name in the mix and another layer to watch as the roster takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Got A Clearer Look At The Big 12 QB Race
Week 3 in the Big 12 gave the quarterback race a little more shape, and for West Virginia eyes around the league, it was another reminder that this conference is going to be defined by who can handle the pressure at the position week after week. The discussion now stretches beyond one hot start or one bad Saturday, with several signal-callers using the first stretch of the season to separate themselves and set up bigger tests ahead.
Week 4 should sharpen the picture again, with a slate that includes some intriguing quarterback duels and teams stepping into more demanding schedules. The latest rankings of eight Big 12 quarterbacks reflect not just what they have done so far, but how much is still riding on the next few games, which makes the race worth tracking closely as the league starts to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Zac Alley Sends West Virginia Defense A Clear Message After Win
West Virginia left the field with a 38-27 win over Virginia, but the mood on the defensive side was anything but celebratory. The Mountaineers had built a three-possession cushion late in the fourth quarter, yet the way Virginia kept pushing back clearly bothered defensive coordinator Zac Alley, who pointed to the lapse as a sign the unit still has work to do.
Alleys frustration was rooted in the final drive, where he said the defense lacked discipline and execution when the game should have been under control. For a team that wants to establish a tougher, more reliable identity, the message was plain: the standard has to hold from the opening snap through the end of the fourth quarter, not just in the stretches when the score looks safe. [Read more 🡒]