West Virginia @ Oklahoma State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 28, 2017 ) Oklahoma State 50, West Virginia 39

With a showdown looming versus No. 6 Oklahoma the day after Thanksgiving that could determine the Big 12 Championship Game participants and serve as an elimination game for the College Football Playoff, No. 7 West Virginia can’t afford to look past Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Saturday. However, the Cowboys, coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Sooners, will have to reach deep down when their porous defense takes the field against the high-powered Mountaineers offense.

West Virginia, which is tied for first in the conference with Oklahoma and a game ahead of Iowa State and Texas, broke open a 3-3 game against TCU last Saturday with 30 points over seven minutes bridging the first and second halves en route to a 47-10 victory. Will Grier recorded his 17th 300-yard passing game and his 15th three-touchdown passing game, and the defense held the Horned Frogs to 222 total yards, including minus-seven yards rushing, after surrendering 41 points and 520 yards one week earlier to Texas. "We've got high standards for playing good defense here," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. "We were pretty motivated to come back and play better. Obviously, we did." The Cowboys dropped a 48-47 decision to Oklahoma last weekend when coach Mike Gundy elected to go for a two-point conversion with 1:03 to play, but Taylor Cornelius threw short in the end zone, keeping the Cowboys one win away from bowl eligibility.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: West Virginia -4.5.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (8-1, 6-1 Big 12): Linebacker David Long Jr. had three sacks among his four tackles for loss and three pass breakups against TCU, and has 84 tackles, 17.5 TFLs and seven sacks on the season. “How can he not be player of the week (once all season)? We're 10 games into this thing, and he does the same thing every week,” Gundy said at his weekly press conference. “You look up and he has 10-12 tackles and five tackles for loss and a sack, or two, or three, like it was last week. He makes every play, and he affects every play. I guarantee you the offense knows where he is every single play.” Grier (2,961 yards, 31 TDs) kept his Heisman Trophy campaign headed in the right direction by completing 25-of-39 passes for 343 yards and three TDs.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (5-5, 2-5): Cornelius threw for a career-high 501 yards, including a 24-yard TD pass to Tylan Wallace with 1:03 to play to bring the Cowboys within one. Wallace had 10 catches for 220 yards and two scores, junior Tyron Johnson set a career high with 11 receptions for 128 yards and a score and sophomore Dillon Stoner tied a season high with five catches and set another with 70 yards receiving. Oklahoma State rolled up 640 yards of total offense, including 104 yards rushing and three TDs by freshman Chuba Hubbard, but surrendered 702 yards and 30-plus points for the fifth straight game.

EXTRA POINTS

1. West Virginia TE Trevon Wesco caught five passes for 89 yards against Texas - the first game since 2002 in which a Mountaineer tight end led all receivers in receiving yards.

2. Wallace, who was just named one of 11 finalists for the Biletnikoff Award on Monday, is third in FBS with 1,282 yards and leads in yards per catch (18.5, minimum 50 catches).

3. The Cowboys lead the all-time series 5-4, including wins the last three seasons.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 47, Oklahoma State 31