WVU Thrashed By Oklahoma State 41-24, Suffering First Loss of 2026 Season

Morgantown, WV - The West Virginia Mountaineers (3-1, 0-1) suffered their first loss of the 2026 season on Saturday in a 41-24 slugfest to the Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-1, 1-0) at Milan Puskar Stadium. 57,736 fans turned out for a wildly entertaining game under the lights at Mountaineer Field.

The Mountaineers started with the ball and picked up a quick first down off the legs of sophomore quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. and senior running back Cam Cook. However, the first drive quickly stalled.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Mestememaker and sophomore running back led the Cowboys into Mountaineers territory with full intention of going for it on 4th and 2 from the West Virginia 43 before a false start forced the Cowboys offense to punt.

Cook jump-started the Mountaineers offense on their second drive with a 75-yard scamper to put WVU in the red zone. Two plays later, Hawkins Jr. did the rest with his legs from six yards out to put the Mountaineers up 7-0.

West Virginia University running back Cam Cook | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

The Cowboys responded with a strong drive that stalled at the Mountaineers ' 12-yard line. Several key drops by receivers cost the Cowboys a chance to tie the game. The field goal made it a 7-3 contest in favor of the Mountaineers.

The Mountaineers offense continued to pound the rock on the ensuing drive. Hawkins Jr. capped off an impressive 16-play, 75-yard drive that lasted just over six minutes with a three-yard touchdown run for his second of the first half to put the Mountaineers up 14-3.

West Virginia University quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Mestemaker and the Cowboys offense swiftly moved the ball down the field, going 74 yards in nine plays before having to settle for a 16-yard field goal to make it a one-possession contest at 14-3. The Mountaineers' defense really tightened up in the red zone throughout the first half, allowing the offense more opportunities to extend their lead.

West Virginia didn’t change their plans, continuing to pound the rock and working their way deep into Cowboys territory once again. Then, disaster struck as Hawkins Jr.’s fifth passing attempt of the game was deflected and intercepted by senior free safety Mose Phillipps III. The return gave the Cowboys prime field position at the 45.

The Cowboys capitalized quickly, as Mestemaker rifled a pass to senior receiver Justin Bowick, who broke free for a 21-yard touchdown. Oklahoma State's 6-play, 55-yard drive made it a 14-13 game in slight favor of the Mountaineers with just a minute and 25 seconds left in the first half.

West Virginia went three-and-out quickly after a massive drop downfield on a Hawkins Jr. pass intended for DJ Epps. The Mountaineers went into halftime with a 14-13 advantage over the Cowboys.

The Cowboys opened up the second half with some fireworks as Mestemaker dropped a 52-yard bomb down the right sideline for a huge gain. However, just two plays later, Mestemaker was off target and threw the ball into the waiting arms of fifth-year safety Kamari Wilson.

The Mestemaker interception proved to be costly as the Mountaineers' rushing attack continued to thrash the Cowboys' defense. West Virginia ran an efficient 7-play, 82-yard drive capped off by Hawkins Jr.’s third rushing touchdown of the contest from nine yards out to make the score 21-13.

With the crowd fully into the game and the Mountaineers back with a comfortable lead, the Cowboys did not back down. Mestemaker demonstrated serious arm talent with completions of 20 and 47 yards on the four-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a four-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Lewis. With the offense rolling, the Cowboys elected to go for two. After a defensive pass interference on their first attempt, the Cowboys converted on a two-point conversion attempt on a pass to Lewis to tie the game at 21 apiece.

West Virginia led a slow, methodical, 14-play, 66-yard drive that stalled inside the red zone. The Mountaineers settled for a field goal to take the lead once again by a score of 24-21 with 3:55 remaining in the third quarter.

Sep 26, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) throws a pass during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mestemaker responded in a big way with yet another big-time throw. This time, he waited to deliver a rocket over the middle to Wyatt Young for a gain of 48. The following play, running back Caleb Hawkins did the rest and took it 22 yards to the end zone. The 3-play, 75-yard drive gave the Cowboys their first lead of the contest by a score of 28-24 with 2:40 left to play in the third quarter.

Driving and at the Cowboys' 40-yard line, head coach Rich Rodriguez elected to go for it on 4th-and-1. However, freshman Amari Latimer was stuffed on the attempt, turning the ball over on downs to the Cowboys.

Mestemaker and Young continued to attack the WVU secondary, connecting on another 48-yard downfield shot. The deep accuracy of Mestemaker was on full display on Saturday, demonstrating why he is set to be a highly-touted prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft. The Mountaineers defense held strong after the huge gain and forced the Cowboys to settle for a 29-yard field goal, which extended their lead to 31-24 over the Mountaineers with 13:58 left to play in the game.

Sep 26, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Wyatt Young (10) catches a pass and shakes a tackle from West Virginia Mountaineers linebacker Ashton Woods (33) during the first quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After working past midfield, Hawkins Jr. was sacked on first and third down to force the Mountaineers to punt.

Following the punt, Mestemaker and Young continued to throttle the Mountaineer secondary with chunk plays. The Cowboys offense used 10 plays and 4:27 of game time to go 80 yards and extended their lead to 38-24. Mestemaker found Young in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown catch.

The Cowboys defense stood tall, sacking Hawkins Jr. on 4th down near midfield to give Oklahoma State the ball back with just over four and a half minutes to play and up by multiple scores.

The Cowboys extended their lead with a 47-yard field goal off the foot of Sam Keltner. The score sat at 41-24 in favor of the Cowboys with just over two minutes to play.

After working the ball down to the Cowboys' 17-yard line, Hawkins Jr.’s fourth-down incompletion gave the ball back to Oklahoma State. The Cowboys were able to kneel out the rest of the game, as they used their 19.5 yards per completion to pick up a Big 12 road victory over the Mountaineers.

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