Oklahoma State’s latest version of the Triplets looked every bit the part Saturday night in a 41-24 win at West Virginia.
The Cowboys got a huge night from three former North Texas transfers who have quickly become the engine of the offense. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns, running back Caleb Hawkins piled up 180 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries, and receiver Wyatt Young delivered eight catches for 192 yards and a score.
That kind of production brings back memories of Oklahoma State’s original Triplets - the 1987 trio of Mike Gundy, Thurman Thomas and Hart Lee Dykes, who helped electrify college football and earned the nickname from then-coach Pat Jones.
Mestemaker and Young connected on a 6-yard touchdown that helped put @CowboyFB back on top, and the overall performance showed why this group arrived in Stillwater with such big expectations. All three were coming off massive seasons at North Texas. Mestemaker led the nation with 4,379 passing yards as a freshman, Hawkins ran for 1,434 yards and 25 touchdowns while setting an FBS freshman record with 29 total touchdowns, and Young caught 70 passes for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns.
They followed head coach Chad Morris to Oklahoma State after North Texas spent much of last season in the College Football Playoff conversation, and the move is already paying off. The Cowboys opened with a loss to Tulsa, then stunned a top-10 Oregon team and beat Murray State before taking care of business against the Mountaineers. Oklahoma State was 30th in votes in the most recent poll, and this latest outing could push the Cowboys closer to the AP Top 25.
West Virginia, meanwhile, also had history working against it. In the 1987 Sun Bowl, the original Triplets torched the Mountaineers as Thomas ran for 157 yards and four touchdowns, Gundy passed for 161 yards on 18 attempts and Dykes caught three passes for 72 yards in Oklahoma State’s 35-33 win in El Paso, Texas.
In Other News...
West Virginia Faces A Bigger Defensive Concern Than One Bad Loss
West Virginias loss to Oklahoma State was not the kind you can pin on one bad quarter or one lopsided stat sheet. The Mountaineers actually had some encouraging numbers on defense and put up a strong rushing total, but the film still told a more troubling story. The new defensive scheme was supposed to help unsettle an opponent that likes to push the ball, yet Oklahoma State found too many ways to hit big plays and keep the pressure on.
What made the defeat sting was how often West Virginia let those chances slip through its hands. Missed tackles piled up, explosive plays came too easily, and the staff admitted the game plan simply did not work as intended. For a team trying to build momentum, the bigger concern is not just the result itself, but whether the defensive issues exposed in this one are tied to a deeper problem than a single rough afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Fans Get A Coal Rush Twist They Werent Expecting
West Virginias October 10 matchup with Arizona now has a start time and a national TV home, and it comes with an early kickoff that should give Mountaineer fans plenty of time to settle in. The Big 12 announced the game will kick at 12 p.m. ET in Morgantown and air on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max, adding another layer of visibility to a nonconference meeting that already carries some curiosity.
Arizona arrives with a little momentum after improving to 3-1 with a win over Washington State, while West Virginia will be trying to build on the familiarity of a series that has been played only once before. The Mountaineers won that 2021 meeting 31-26, and this years game lands in the middle of a busy stretch for the Wildcats, who will turn around and face Cincinnati in a late kickoff the following week. [Read more 🡒]
Rich Rod's Offense Is Giving West Virginia Fans A Real Concern
Rich Rodriguezs latest West Virginia offense is already drawing attention because it looks different from the ones fans remember from his earlier coaching stops. Through four games, the Mountaineers are throwing on just 22% of their offensive snaps, a notably lower rate than Rodriguez has typically used over the course of his career. For a coach long associated with pace and spread principles, that tilt toward the run has become one of the early-season talking points around the program.
The reasons are not hard to see, at least in broad terms. Pass protection has been an issue, and the receiver play has also factored into the equation, making it easier to understand why the offense has leaned so heavily on the ground game. Still, the bigger question hovering over West Virginia is whether a more balanced approach would make the attack harder to defend and more effective overall, even if the current numbers suggest Rodriguez is still searching for the right mix. [Read more 🡒]