Three Storylines I'm Watching Most in Oklahoma State's Week 4 Matchup Against West Virginia
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The Oklahoma State Cowboys could come home from West Virginia with their first Big 12 regular season win since the end of the 2023 season.
That's something that should get Cowboys fans going as Oklahoma State (2-1) prepares to face the Mountaineers at 6 p.m. central on Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Both teams enter the game with votes in the AP Top 25 poll, and both are sitting just outside it. The winner could have a strong case for inclusion in the poll for the first time this season.
There are several storylines that Cowboys fans could focus on. Here are three that I have my eye on going into the game.
The Burden of 18
The date you’re looking for is Nov. 25, 2023. That was the last time the Oklahoma State Cowboys won a Big 12 regular season game. That was a 40-34, double overtime victory over BYU. Yes, the Cowboys had to squeak it out.
The following week, Oklahoma State lost the Big 12 Championship game to Texas. And since then, the Cowboys haven't won a conference game. They carry an 18-game regular season league losing streak into this game against West Virginia and you can only imagine the burden that would take off the fan base if the Cowboys pulled it off.
Now most of these Cowboys don't have any connection to that losing streak outside of the handful that decided to stay after Mike Gundy was fired. For them it would be a big deal too.
There's pressure attached to any streak. The Cowboys ended a 21-game losing streak against FBS opponents when they beat Oregon two weeks ago. They extended their undefeated streak against FCS teams when they beat Murray State last week.
A win on Saturday would be like a release valve for everyone involved in the program. It would set a tone for a team some believe has the talent to be a contender. I'm interested to see if the Cowboys can handle that pressure, much of which is self-imposed.
Kings of Pace
In Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris and West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez, you have two head coaches that like their teams to play fast. Pace is what they do, especially on offense. They just do it in different ways.
Morris is an Air Raid disciple who played for the legendary Mike Leach at Texas Tech. He runs the ball more than Leach ever thought about, but his quarterback triggers the offense and works out of the pocket.
Rodriguez runs a no-huddle spread with run-pass options that lately has been heavy on running the ball behind quarterback Michael Hawkins and running back Cam Cook. He’s one of the pioneers of the offense.
Time of possession won't matter much in this game. Execution will. It's one of Morris’ favorite words. Same for Rodriguez. Whichever team executes their offense better and quicker probably wins this game.
Becoming Kings of the Road (Trip)
Oklahoma State’s first road trip against Tulsa didn't go well. And that was an hour-long bus ride. This is Oklahoma state's first TRUE road trip of the season.
It's a flight to Pittsburgh to a hotel outside of Morgantown and then a day of waiting until a 7 p.m. ET kickoff. Fans can tailgate. Journalists can watch the other games. Players? Well, they’re going to have to find ways to remain focused without getting hyper-focused.
Night games in Morgantown are great. I can attest to that. But only a few players on this OSU team have experienced it. Handling this type of road trip isn’t easy. Morris has talked about it all week and I’m not sure he knows how his team will handle it.
Think of it this way — when the OSU-Oregon game went into that 90-minute lighting delay, the Cowboys chilled in their locker room, turned down the thermostat and rested. The road team is far more uncomfortable. Against Tulsa Morris noted that his team didn’t handle the “locker room” well in Tulsa.
This becomes a post-game narrative win or lose. If OSU wins, then the Cowboys handled it great. If OSU loses, then it becomes a hurdle the next time the Cowboys go on the road at Houston.
Plus, if Oklahoma State wants to have any chance of being a dark horse contender in this Big 12, the Cowboys must win on the road — which means winning every part of the road trip.
For what it’s worth, Oklahoma State’s last road win in the regular season was at Tulsa on Sept. 14, 2024.
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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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