College Football: Predicting every undefeated teams first loss
By Carly Regehr
4. West Virginia Mountaineers
W-L Record: 5-0
Remaining Schedule: at Oklahoma State, Kansas, at Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa State, at Baylor
They will fall victim to…
Oklahoma on Nov. 19
Even though West Virginia will play host to Oklahoma, the headliner of a defense in Morgantown will be challenged by an OU team that’s gaining steam. Baker Mayfield had one hell of a game versus Texas Tech. RB Joe Mixon and WR Dede Westbrook, too, are producing some bulky numbers in their own rights.
Oklahoma’s season didn’t start right, though. They were a heavy favorite against Houston, but OU succumbed to first-game jitters, losing 23-33. Then a string of games a couple of weeks later, OU narrowly escaped a failing TCU and an inexcusable Texas Longhorns roster.
Beating West Virginia in its hometown would be solid evidence for Oklahoma. It’s a deafening arena in Morgantown, but Baker Mayfield has to channel that adrenaline into scoring drives. Thankfully, the Sooners have managed to pile on the yards. As of Week 8, OU tacked on over 300 yards rushing against Texas Tech and has an extra three games (UL-Monroe, TCU, Texas) where the team rushed for over 200 yards. Shouldn’t be a hard day for Mayfield and Co.
Also, Oklahoma is 6-2 against West Virginia. They’ve also won twice in Morgantown before, once in 2012 and again in 2014. Right now, the Sooners are owners of a four-game winning streak over the Mountaineers. If West Virginia does win, they’ll win big, because of history. In fact, their two wins came by a margin of two or more possessions.
Oklahoma won’t be the victim, though. They’ll be able to rely on a defense, led by Jordan Evans (47 tackles, 5 TFL) and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (38 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 5 sacks) if West Virginia QB Skyler Howard decides to break loose.