Skip to main content

Lincoln Log: Other highlights from Riley's press conference

OU-WVU a mismatch (on paper) ... A lot to be thankful for ... Playing games beats postponing them

The best of the rest from Lincoln Riley’s weekly press conference:

Historically … a mismatch

At first glance, Oklahoma at West Virginia looks like a mismatch.

Since starting 0-2 in Big 12 Conference play with late collapses against Kansas State and Iowa State, the Sooners have won five in a row by an average score of 50-22.

WVU, meanwhile, is 4-3 in its last seven games, hasn’t won back-to-back games since mid-October, and suffered defeats to Oklahoma State (27-13), Texas Tech (34-27) and Texas (17-13) — all teams that lost to Oklahoma.

The Sooners are No. 11 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, while the Mountaineers are nowhere to be found. OU is a 13-time Big 12 champ, including five in a row; WVU’s last outright conference title was in 2005 in the Big East.

Lincoln Riley and Mike Gundy

Lincoln Riley and Mike Gundy

While Oklahoma ranks sixth all-time with 914 college football victories and sixth in history with seven national championships, WVU is notable for being the FBS program with the most wins (760) without a national championship.

OU is currently an 11-point betting favorite.

None of that matters, of course, to Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, who expressed an appreciation for the 2020 version of the Mountaineers, led by second-year coach Neal Brown.

“Give coach Brown and his staff a lot of credit,” Riley said. “Those guys have played some quality ball. Their losses have been close games. They’ve won some big games. They’ve played extremely well at home this year, winning every one of their home games and winning several of them by pretty wide margins.

“They beat Kansas State there pretty well (37-10), as well as TCU (24-6) in the last few weeks. Obviously playing well on both sides of the ball. Defense has been a strength for them all year. Offensively they’re moving the ball well, quarterback’s playing well. They’re able to run it and throw it both. So give them a lot of credit. They’re doing a great job.”

It’s a matchup of the No. 1 and 2 offenses (OU and WVU) and defenses (WVU and OU) in the Big 12. The Sooners are averaging 512.1 yards per game while WVU is averaging 442.6. On defense, the Mountaineers yield just 274 yards per game, while4 OU allows 326.6.

One more note: the Sooners are 8-0 against WVU in Big 12 play, including 4-0 in Morgantown with the average score of 53-41.

“It’s always tough going to Morgantown and trying to come out of there with a win,” Riley said. “We know that from past experience.”

Still Thankful

College football players have to put up with a lot. The many travails of the 2020 season just seem to add to list.

This week, the Sooners try to navigate the Big 12’s big road trip — the league’s only school in another time zone; WVU is closer to the Maine-Canada border (1,007 miles) than it is to Norman (1,140).

And do it while trying to squeeze in the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I think we’re a little used to it by now,” Riley said. “We can’t live our normal lives. Nobody can in this pandemic — or maybe some still are. Ours in some ways is a little bit different for our guys. They’re not like the average college kid that’s out living like normal, like appears most are. I think our guys have gotten used to that.

Lincoln Riley

Lincoln Riley

“Yeah, is it hard not going home or doing the things you want to on Thanksgiving, going to a staff member’s home, all that? It is. But at the same time we’re pretty used to playing right around here, so normally they have just an afternoon off and we’re back at it ready to travel and go play the very next day anyway.

“The message, though, for the team despite all the tough things our team and people in general have gone through, we can’t forget how much we still have to be thankful for.

“One thing we’re thankful for is being able to play this game, and these games haven’t gotten taken away from us and we’ve been able to all do what we love, even though it’s been a little bit different. We’re trying to approach that way and not just be ‘poor me, poor us’ pandemic, blah, blah, blah. You know what, life’s still pretty good. We’re still getting to play football and coach football, which is pretty good.”

Playing Beats Postponing

Riley said Monday he knows “for a fact” that teams in the Big 12 have played games this season “when teams in other leagues canceled” because of high numbers of players in COVID protocol.

On Tuesday, he said the Sooners were included in that group, and then expounded on why.

“That’s just a little bit how we’re wired,” Riley said. “If we feel like we can play, play safely, we’re going to play. I just think decisions like that, I would say, are bigger than just one year. A couple of those early games this year, we could have not played. You could maybe come back at the end of this year and say, ‘You know what? Maybe a result of one of those games would have been different had we not done it.’

Lincoln Riley 

Lincoln Riley 

“But I just think the message that sends to your team, and here at OU — nothing to do with me — but all the great players and coaches here in the past, this has been about competitiveness and edge and toughness. I don’t know. If you can play, and all of a sudden you pull it, I just don’t know that you’re really embracing kind of what this place has always been about and what’s made this program special for years and years and years. Who knows?

“I’m not saying we won’t get to a point where it’s not safe for us to play a game this year. I don’t know. We have been close. But if we feel like we can play and play safely, then we’re going to play. We decided it was going to be like that from the beginning, and we were going to ride with it no matter what. And we have done that.”

To get the latest OU posts as they happen, join the SI Sooners Community by clicking “Follow” at the top right corner of the page (mobile users can click the notifications bell icon), and follow SI Sooners on Twitter @All_Sooners.