West Virginia Mountaineers: By the Numbers

NORMAN — For one last time, Oklahoma will host a Big 12 foe for night game under the lights at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

OU’s Black Friday regular season finale against TCU is already slotted for 11 a.m., meaning the West Virginia Mountaineers will take the field in the final night game in Norman before the Sooners head for the SEC.

And WVU has been far from an easy out this year.

After getting picked dead last in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll, WVU enters Norman a strong 6-3 on the year, with its only non-conference loss coming at the hands of No. 10 Penn State.

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No. 17 Oklahoma (7-2, 4-2) is looking to snap a two-game losing streak and keep slim hopes alive of backdooring its way into the Big 12 Championship with late-season slips from either Texas, Oklahoma State or Kansas.

7

Since OU’s bye week, the Sooners have faced a gauntlet of excellent rushing attacks.

Things will be no different when toe meets leather on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Norman.

The Mountaineers average 218.0 rushing yards per game, which ranks seventh nationally.

Quarterback Garrett Greene and running back CJ Donaldson Jr. both chip in, providing a pair of threats for defenses to account for out of the backfield.

But unlike UCF, who still runs its offense at a lighting-fast pace, Neal Brown’s team slows the game down as much as possible.

West Virginia holds the ball for 33:56 per game, which is fourth in the country in average time of possession.

The result both works to wear out the defense while heaping more pressure on opposing offenses.

Brent Venables’ defense felt those effects a year ago in Morgantown, as Greene and the Mountaineer offense played keep away for the final six and a half minutes to set up a game-winning field goal to upset the Sooners 23-20.

If Oklahoma’s offense continues to misfire with procedural penalties and turnovers, things could quickly flip on OU come Saturday night.

15.93

While West Virginia’s passing attack is far from explosive, the plays Greene does hit through the air can be lethal.

Though he’s only completed 53.0 percent of his passes in 2023, Greene is averaging 15.93 passing yards per completion, which is fourth in the country.

Six different Mountaineer wide receivers have caught passes for more than 30 yards, and WVU’s leading pass receiver Devin Carter averages 18.0 yards per completion.

Greene also has a good relationship with tight end Kole Taylor, who has caught 25 passes for 305 yards and three scores on the year.

Most of the attention will be dedicated to stopping Greene’s legs, but he’s shown to be more than capable of hurting opponents with his arm if defenses get too sucked in trying to stop the run.

92.3

As the offense has dictated play on the ground, West Virginia’s defense has been fine.

The Mountaineers rank No. 61-overall in total defense, allowing 366.8 yards per game.

But an area where WVU excels is special teams.

Place kicker Michael Hayes has been nails all year, knocking 92.3 percent of his field goals through the uprights.

Punt returner Preston Fox ranks in the top 20 nationally in yards per return, and the Mountaineers have blocked three kicks this season.

Kicking has been an adventure for Oklahoma all year.

The Sooners had a punt blocked against Texas which resulted in a touchdown for the Longhorns, and Zach Schmit is tied for 90th in the country in kicking, only hitting 66.7 percent of his kicks in 2023.

If there is a big special teams play that will flip momentum on Saturday, odds are that it will be a swing that benefits the Mountaineers.

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