4 Matchups That Will Decide Oklahoma State’s Week 4 Game Against West Virginia
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The Oklahoma State Cowboys head to Morgantown to face the West Virginia Mountaineers with a lot to prove.
The Cowboys (2-1) haven’t won a Big 12 regular-season game since the end of the 2023 season. OSU has lost 18 straight leagues games. They’re on a winning streak for the first time since the start of the 2024 season (3-0) and winning a game like this is the next step to turning things around.
But OSU head coach Eric Morris and his Cowboys are going to face a tough test in the Mountaineers (3-0). Head coach Rich Rodriguez has West Virginia playing its best football since he returned to the program last year. They're among the best rushing teams in the country and he's found two players that can run his spread option attack to perfection.
Here are four matchups that will decide the game for the Cowboys on Saturday.
OSU Front Four vs. WVU QB Michael Hawkins
Michael Hawkins has been perfect for West Virginia's offense. He's exactly the type of dual threat quarterback that thrives in Rich Rodriguez's spread option system. The Mountaineers have been running the ball more than 60% of the time, but Hawkins has a quality arm, and he get the ball downfield.
But Oklahoma state's front four must exhibit the same discipline and focus on tackling that it has shown the past two games against Oregon and Murray State. This unit has done a great job of setting the edge, keeping runners from bouncing out and funneling ball carriers toward capable tacklers at linebacker and safety.
Morris admitted earlier this week that Hawkins is a challenge the Cowboys haven't faced yet. Containing him and keeping him from creating big plays offensively, especially on the run, is something the front four must do on Saturday.
OSU QB Drew Mestemaker vs. WVU DC Zac Alley
It's not often that I'll pit a quarterback against a defensive coordinator, but this will be a big mental game. Morris has consistently praised Mestemaker’s ability to process information quickly and make good decisions. Cowboys fans have seen that build since the loss to Tulsa.
Alley runs a multiple defense. He could run a 4-2-5, a 3-4, a 4-3 or a 3-3-5, sometimes in the same game. He loves to blitz and he does a great job of disguising it.
If Mestemaker really is the savant Morris believes he is at breaking down defenses, recognizing disguised fronts and being able to make quick decisions, he should be able to get the Cowboys in the right protections and adjustments at the line of scrimmage.
If he can, then the Cowboys could have a good offensive night. If he can't, it's going to limit what Oklahoma State can do, especially downfield.
OSU Third-Down Defense vs. WVU Third-Down Offense
Every coach will tell you that getting teams off the field on third down defensively, or converting third downs to continue drives offensively, drives winning. Well, this game features one of the most unique matchups in college football.
The Cowboys enter the game No. 1 in the country in third down conversion percentage on defense at 16.2%. The Mountaineers offense enters the game No. 15 in the country in third down conversion percentage at 53.3%.
The fact that Oklahoma State’s defense leads the country in any category after last year's debacle is a feather in defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity’s cap. The Cowboys have to think of this challenge like Week 2 against Oregon. Oregon was 5-for-14 on third down in the game.
If the Cowboys can do that against the Mountaineers, they’ve got a shot to slow down the Mountaineers’ offense in a way no other team has done yet this season.
Cowboys RB Caleb Hawkins vs. WVU RB Cam Cook
I know these two players won't face off directly against one another, but the running back matchup in this contest is just too good not to highlight.
Of all the offensive players that transferred into the Big 12, Hawkins and Cook intrigued me the most because of their high level of production at a Group of 6 school and because of where they landed.
Hawkins followed his head coach from North Texas to Oklahoma State, and it brought the childhood OSU fan home. He’s rushed for 261 yards and one touchdown. He also has 11 receptions for 43 yards. He’s the perfect run fit for the Air Raid offense.
Cook is the perfect run fit for Rich Rodriguez’s spread option attack, and he played for Mountaineers OL coach Rick Trickett at Jacksonville State, so he’s used to the scheme. He has 317 yards and three touchdowns.
It's enough to make you hope both head coaches sell out to the run and let these two roll. In another era, this would be a matchup everyone was hyping up.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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