OSU Four Downs: Can Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State football win 5th straight at West Virginia?

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two teams at very different emotional points in their seasons will meet at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Oklahoma State comes to town riding an unexpected two-game winning streak, while West Virginia had its hot start halted by Houston’s Hail Mary last week.

Set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, televised by ESPN, the Cowboys (4-2) and Mountaineers (4-2) are looking to separate themselves in the Big 12 standings, where they’re tied at 2-1.

Here’s a look at the game in this week’s edition of Four Downs:

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Cowboy in the Crosshairs

Offensive tackle Jake Springfield: OSU coach Mike Gundy didn’t go into detail on starting left tackle Dalton Cooper’s injury that kept him out for most of the Kansas game, so it’s unclear if he’ll be back in his usual role at West Virginia.

If he can’t play, Jake Springfield will be back at left tackle after filling in for Cooper last week. If Cooper returns, Springfield goes back to his usual right tackle spot. Either way, Springfield’s role will be critical.

West Virginia is a solid run defense, giving up just 119.0 yards per game, to go with 14 sacks through six games this season.

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Number to know

36.5%: That’s the rate at which Oklahoma State is converting third downs. It ranks 96th nationally, and while several statistical markers have been on the rise in the last three games for the OSU offense, this is actually one that has gotten worse.

OSU is converting just 34.0% of third-down tries in Big 12 play.

Complicating matters, West Virginia ranks eighth nationally in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert just 28.4% of attempts.

If the OSU offense is going to continue its uptick in production and pull out a road win, keeping the chains moving with third-down conversions will be key.

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Morgantown meetings

Since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012, Morgantown has provided a homey feeling for the Cowboys. OSU is 4-1 at Milan Puskar Stadium since the Mountaineers became a conference foe.

West Virginia won the first meeting, 30-21, but OSU has reeled off four straight wins in the mountains since, at times with some help from some unexpected sources.

It started with a 33-26 win in 2015 when J.W. Walsh ran for an overtime touchdown to seal it.

In 2017, backup running back J.D. King rushed 36 times for 142 yards in a 50-39 win.

Then in 2019, backup quarterback Dru Brown and a strong defensive performance powered a 20-13 victory.

And in 2021, of course, it was that dominant Cowboy defense that anchored a 24-3 victory.

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Uni-guess

Black-white-black: We’ve yet to see one of the Cowboys’ new uniforms, the white jersey with black numbers. Seems like it might be time to debut those.

And the Cowboys have worn white helmets in their previous road games this season, which seems likely to change this week as well.

More: What have been the biggest keys to Oklahoma State football's offensive turnaround?

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football seeks fifth straight win at West Virginia