Oklahoma Sooners Football: OU blows out West Virginia, 52-14

On Homecoming Weekend, the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners handled the West Virginia Mountaineers, 52-14. With the win, OU improved to 4-0 in Big 12 play and 7-0 overall on the season for the first time since 2004.

In a mostly ho-hum game, the dramatics reached a crescendo in the second quarter when the Sooner Schooner took a sharp left turn and rolled over onto its side. Fortunately, everyone involved was reportedly okay and made it out of the mayhem without serious harm.

Last week, Jalen Hurts probably played his worst game of the season against Texas considering the turnovers and some questionable red-zone decision making, but the former Alabama QB followed up that performance with one of the very best of his career. Hurts connected on his first 11 throws, and on the day completed 16 of 17 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 75 rushing yards and two more scores on 10 carries.

It was a balanced output for Lincoln Riley’s offense with 10 different receivers and nine different rushers. WRs CeeDee Lamb and Charleston Rambo both led the team with 71 receiving yards apiece, while Hurts and RB Kennedy Brooks led the ground game with 75 and 70 yards, respectively.

Alex Grinch’s defense was unable to force a turnover for the third consecutive game, but special teams provided a major spark with a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown in the third quarter. Brayden Willis came screaming in and denied West Virginia punter Josh Growden from getting the ball out of the back of the end zone, then true freshman TE Austin Stogner was in the right place at just the right time to score six points for OU.

Oklahoma’s defense was once again stifling on third down, holding West Virginia to 5 of 18 conversions. However, the Mountaineers were able to convert two fourth downs on the same drive. The first was off a fake punt, and the second resulted in WVU’s first touchdown of the game.

On the other side, the Sooners were only able to convert 2 of 7 third downs. While it’s a positive sign that the OU offense doesn’t reach the money down all that often because of successes on first and second down, but it could become a bit of a concern if Oklahoma finds itself in a shootout later in the season.

After the game, West Virginia QB Austin Kendall reunited with his former Oklahoma teammates. On the day, AK went 15-31 for 182 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Even though he struggled at times against the Sooners’ upgraded D, he played valiantly in his return to his old stomping grounds.

Next up, Oklahoma heads back to the Sunflower State on Oct. 26 to take on Kansas State. OU has won four straight overall in the series, including the last seven in Manhattan. The Sooners and the Wildcats kick things off at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.

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