5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s 23-20 loss to West Virginia
In the spirit of full transparency, we deemed Oklahoma’s loss to Texas as rock bottom. Truthfully, that may have been because it was a rivalry game, and Oklahoma didn’t have key guys available, notably starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Saturday’s loss to West Virginia has forced us to reevaluate that stance. After minimal discussion, it’s become quite apparent that the loss to West Virginia is truly rock bottom. On a wet and chilly day in Morgantown, Oklahoma lost a game to the worst team in the Big 12.
It wasn’t even the worst they’ve looked all season.
The game was competitive from start to finish, and that in itself was the issue. West Virginia should’ve never sniffed a meaningful chance to win this game, but somehow it did, and it was not pretty.
With two games left, Oklahoma is still one win away from gaining bowl eligibility. However, before we can look forward, here are five takeaways from the Sooners’ loss to West Virginia.
This team is unequivocally a mess
Nov. 12, 2022; Morgantown; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Garrett Greene (6) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
This team just isn’t good. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but they aren’t complete in any phase of the game. They have far too many hiccups week in and week out.
Despite the defense playing pretty well for the first half, Oklahoma could only muster a 12-6 lead in the first 30 minutes.
In the second half, the defense began to falter and was bullied at the line of scrimmage on defense. Offensively, too many plays were just not made.
The coaching isn’t up to par either. With a large sample size to look at, it’s time to stop believing there’s a good team in there. Not this year, at least.
Heisman QB Play has hid so much
Nov. 12, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) celebrates with teammates on the sidelines during the third quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
With each passing game, one thing becomes apparent, Oklahoma’s recent run of Heisman QB play masked how neglected the rest of the team looked.
Dillon Gabriel is a solid quarterback in the right situation, but he very clearly has limitations. West Virginia came in ranked 118th in the nation in passing yards allowed in 2022.
Unlike previous seasons against West Virginia, when Kyler Murray simply refused to lose and took matters into his own hands, Gabriel doesn’t have the ability to take over a game. Oklahoma needs more complementary football from the defense and special teams. On a day when the defense held its opponent to 23 points, the offense needed to be better.
Eric Gray is Oklahoma's best offensive player this year
Nov. 12, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia; Oklahoma Sooners running back Eric Gray (0) runs the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Eric Gray, not Marvin Mims, has been the best Oklahoma offensive skill player. It’s also a competition that is no longer close. Gray tried his hardest to run Oklahoma to a victory in this game, but it wasn’t enough.
Gray went off for 211 yards on 25 carries in a game that saw him sprint past the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season. He also scored two touchdowns to provide a boost for Oklahoma’s struggling offense.
Untimely drops have plagued Marvin Mims this season. Dillon Gabriel has missed Mims on multiple occasions as the wide receiver has gotten behind defenses seemingly at will. Both things were true in the loss.
Gabriel missed a wide-open Mims running free up the seam. Later, Gabriel put a beautiful ball on Mims’ down the sideline and Marvin was unable to come up with a grab that would have been a touchdown.
Taking that and Gray’s performance into consideration, Gray is the top man in Oklahoma’s offense this year.
Danny Stutsman may be just fine
Nov. 12, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia; Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) celebrates with teammates after intercepting a pass during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
After some up-and-down results from game to game, Danny Stutsman played his best game as a Sooner against West Virginia. He led all tacklers with 14. He had half of a tackle for loss, half a sack and picked off Mountaineers QB J.T. Daniels in the first half.
Stutsman looked confident and decisive, knifing thru the WVU offensive line and flying around the football. At this point, development is the biggest key for Oklahoma. Seeing Stutsman grow can only help in regard to next year.
This offensive line will be missed
Nov. 12, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia; Oklahoma Sooners running back Eric Gray (0) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
After a down year last year, Bill Bedenbaugh was under scrutiny this past offseason as he sought to reconfigure his offensive line room in the midst of a scheme change.
Bedenbaugh worked with his guys, tinkering with combinations to try and see what worked best. He’s found his rotation, and they’ve become a consistent and reliable unit paving the way for Eric Gray, who eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing with his 211-yard day.
There’s a chance three of the starters don’t come back as they can either graduate or leave early for the NFL draft. Needless to say, their growth and consistency will be missed.
[listicle id=75362]
[listicle id=75317]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.
