Two teams with eyes on the Top 25 will meet Saturday night when West Virginia hosts Oklahoma State in the Big 12 opener for both squads in Morgantown, W.Va.
The visiting Cowboys (2-1) lead the Big 12, averaging 528.0 yards per game on offense and 306.3 through the air, and face the Mountaineers (3-0), who average a league-best 281.3 yards rushing per game. Both are scoring more than 35 points per game.
The Mountaineers, third among teams also receiving votes in this week’s Associated Press poll, have their best start since 2018 when they began 5-0. Last Saturday in Charlotte, N.C., the Mountaineers blitzed then-No. 25 Virginia 38-27.
Michael Hawkins Jr. accounted for all five touchdowns in the win. The former Oklahoma quarterback threw two while going 10-for-17 for 190 yards passing and added three more while running 18 times for a career-best 123 yards. Cam Cook carried 30 times for 123 yards.
First-year Cowboys coach Eric Morris said his defense will need to communicate well to contain the Mountaineers’ talented backfield.
“Missed tackles will kill you, and when you’re fitting this run game up, and it’s not just Hawkins,” he said. “Cook’s a really, really dynamic back.”
Oklahoma State, which had the fifth-most votes for unranked teams, looks to end a couple of ominous streaks. The Cowboys have lost 18 straight conference games and 11 straight against any road opponent. That’s their longest overall road streak since dropping 15 consecutive from October 1934 to November 1936.
Fresh off their upset of Oregon, the Cowboys avoided any letdown by throttling Murray State 59-0 last Saturday. Drew Mestemaker completed 20 of 22 passes for 324 yards and five TDs before departing in the third quarter.
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez is impressed by Oklahoma State’s progress since losing its season opener at Tulsa.
“The first game is always the hardest, especially if you got like they did a whole bunch of new players. … They come out the next game and just from the jump, jump all over Oregon, it tells you a lot about how they’ve turned that program into where it is,” Rodriguez said.