What Are Mike Gundy’s Thoughts on West Virginia Ahead of Matchup?
In this story:
After a win over Kansas on Saturday, Oklahoma State will hit the road this week to take on West Virginia.
West Virginia (4-2) is coming off a loss to Houston last Thursday in which the Cougars threw a hail mary in the final seconds to beat the Mountaineers 41-39.
Defense has been the theme for the Mountaineers this season. They come in ranked 45th in the country in total defense and 35th in the country in rushing defense.
Oklahoma State (4-2) head coach Mike Gundy said West Virginia uses Jared Bartlett similar to what Colin Oliver does for Oklahoma State.
“He walks around and does a lot of different things,” Gundy said. “They bring him quite a bit, and they like to blitz him.”
On offense, quarterback Garett Greene will run the show for the Mountaineers. Greene has been inconsistent in the passing game this season, completing 53% of his passes and throwing for only six touchdowns. In his five games played this season, Greene has thrown for zero touchdowns in three of those games.
Gundy said isn’t worried about his arm, but he does think Greene is more dangerous with his legs than what most people give him credit for.
“He’s not a burner, but he’s more effective than you think and he runs better than you think,” Gundy said. "He doesn't get caught a lot of times. He did that to us out here last year, so he’s really effective.”
Morgantown is a tough place to place, but the Cowboys have had success there, winning four of their six appearances at West Virginia. Gundy said it’s always tough to play on the road, especially in the Big 12.
“Most road games in this league are difficult,” Gundy said. “Most people will tell you they don’t like coming here (Stillwater). They (West Virginia) have a good home crowd there, but it's playing on the road and we have won a lot of games on the road.”
Kickoff against West Virginia is at 2:30 p.m. inside Milan Puskar Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Want to join the discussion? Like AllPokes on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Cowboys news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
Nick is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University, where he also minors Sports Managment. He has covered OSU softball for 107.7 The Franchise and also covers Oklahoma high school football for Enid News & Eagle.