West Virginia can win shootout vs. underwhelming Oklahoma State

West Virginia football is thinking upset over Oklahoma State football.

West Virginia football can definitely upset Oklahoma State football Saturday by way of shootout.

There’s little margin for error for the West Virginia Mountaineers to stun the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater this weekend. However, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane almost pulled it off last week with defense. In short, the Pokes are vulnerable and not as electrifying offensively as we originally thought. Does Neal Brown‘s team have what it takes to win a barn-burner in Stillwater?

Could this be the year where West Virginia “pops” under Neal Brown?

Though the earliest stages of the 2020 college football season, the ‘Eers and the Pokes are 1-0 in their lone non-conference games. However, people are feeling optimistic about what Brown is doing at WVU, while people are a little concerned about how truly underwhelming Oklahoma State was last week vs. Tulsa. I mean, they almost lost their season opener at home to freaking Tulsa!

Sure, West Virginia played essentially a JV team in the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in their season opener, but they did put up 56 points, while only allowing 10. Brown has previously won big with the Troy Trojans. While this isn’t the Sun Belt anymore, West Virginia expect big things out of its second-year head coach. Perhaps they are this year’s on-the-rise team in the Big 12?

With Jarret Doege at quarterback and a pair of 100-yard rushers vs. Eastern Kentucky in Leddie Brown and Alec Sinkfield, maybe the ‘Eers have the horses to keep pace with Chuba Hubbard, Tylan Wallace and the rest of the Pokes? Though West Virginia might have a defense too, there’s no telling at this point, given the sub-standard competition they went up against two weeks ago.

Looking at the Big 12 from a bird’s eye view, there are two great teams in the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns, one terrible team in the Kansas Jayhawks, and then there’s everybody else. From Oklahoma State to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, we could see a lot of jostling between the third and ninth-best team in the Big 12 this year. Oklahoma State has to look markedly better.

As for WVU, the team is playing with house money. They’re not expected to beat the No. 15 team in the land in their place. Oklahoma State could not be facing more pressure, as the Cowboys almost lost at home to Tulsa. If they drop their Big 12 home opener vs. a rebuilding West Virginia team, things might start getting a little toasty under head coach Mike Gundy‘s seat.

It wasn’t all that long ago Brown’s Trojans beat Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers. That signature victory was a big reason Brown has ascended that quickly up the coaching ranks. West Virginia may not be the most marquee job in the world, but it has a rabid fanbase as the biggest thing going in the state. When WVU starts cooking, oh, this is a fantastic football program to watch go to work.

West Virginia’s football identity for the better part of a generation has been with high-octane offense. Many excellent coaches have spent time in Morgantown, but we still need to see if Brown is ready to dictate terms from the big chair in Big 12 play. Winning in Stillwater by way of a shootout would certainly send a message to all of us that WVU is on the come up in 2020.

What if it’s West Virginia who becomes this year’s Baylor Bears in the Big 12 for all we know?

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