Oklahoma State vs. West Virginia: A Condensed History

This Homecoming weekend will be headlined by Oklahoma State’s matchup with No. 10 West Virginia. There are plenty of ties between the two teams, especially when it comes to the two coaching staffs.

That’s why it seems so strange that the two teams have only met seven times coming into this week. So I thought it would be fun to take a quick trip down the Cowboy-Mountaineer memory lane.

1928 – At West Virginia

The Mountaineers currently hold a 4-3 edge over the Cowboys in a series as old as T. Boone Pickens. That’s right. Mr. Pickens was five months old when the Oklahoma A&M Cowboys took the long trip to Morgantown, WV for the first time ever.

That first contest was in the middle of a long season for the Cowboys who headed to West Virginia with a 1-4 record and came back with a 1-5 record thanks to a lop-sided 32-6 loss. The Mountaineers ended that season 8-2 while the Cowboys finished 1-7.

1929 – At Oklahoma State

In 1929 the Cowboys welcomed West Virginia to Stillwater in the second leg of the home-and-home. This was the first year for Oklahoma A&M head coach Pappy Waldorf.  Other than sporting one of the better names of any OSU coach, he led the Cowboys to a marked improvement, finishing 4-3-2. Unfortunately, in a somewhat lower-scoring affair, the Mountaineers left Lewis Field with a 9-6 win.

1987 Sun Bowl

The two teams didn’t play again for another 58 years. They met on Christmas Day 1987 in El Paso, Tx for the Sun Bowl. The No. 11 Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-2) took on West Virginia (6-5) in a snow-covered shootout with the likes of Mike Gundy, Thurman Thomas, Hart Lee Dykes and Barry Sanders in the lineup.

Mike Gundy went 12 of 18 for 161 yards, one touchdown to two interceptions (including a pick-6). Not the best showing from the Big 8’s all-time leading passer. But Thurman Thomas came up big in his final OSU game going for 157 yards and four touchdowns.

West Virginia nearly tied things up with a two-point conversion but came up short of the goal line. The Mountaineers attempted an on-side kick with 1:13 remaining but it was recovered by Hart Lee Dykes. The “Gullet” took a knee to run out the clock. There was no pass attempted to run out the clock. Cowboys win 35-33.

2012 – At Oklahoma State

In West Virginia’s first year in the Big 12 and second year under Dana Holgorsen, the Mountaineers headed to Stillwater for the fourth game in the series and the first as conference rivals. Holgorsen was just two years removed from his hotel room in Stillwater and his job as OSU’s offensive coordinator.

OSU was in the midst of a three-year quarterback carousel. At this part of the ride, Clint Chelf was QB1. The week before Wes Lunt had been injured against Kansas State and J.W. Walsh had been knocked out prior to that with a knee injury.

Chelf of “Choo-Choo” lore went 22 of 31 for 292 yards and four touchdowns as the Cowboys handily defeated the Mountaineers 55-34. Josh Stewart pitched in a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Justin Gilbert did this.

2013 – At West Virginia

Ben Grogan. Yes, that Ben Grogan. Bedlam hero. All-Time Leading scorer. “Kid Clutch”.

This is probably the earliest memory of Ben Grogan for most OSU fans. The freshman went 0-2 on the road on a couple field goals at crucial points in the game, including a missed 23-yard attempt in the fourth quarter that would have tied the game.

The blame didn’t completely fall on Grogan. J.W. Walsh filled the stat sheet. “The General” led his troops with 322 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately they came on 47 (!!) attempts and with two interceptions.

This was also the “Clint-Trickett Bowl.” The Florida State transfer had an ugly game himself going 24 of 50 for 309 yards, one touchdown and two picks.  But the Mountaineers make the plays the Cowboys can’t. Good guys lose 30-21.

2014 – At Oklahoma State

The season most OSU fans would like to forget. Well, other than the ending. We were seven games into the Daxx Garman experiment. Although “The Monument” (that’s just a nice name for a statue) was 5-1 as a starter, he had an ugly showing, completing just 51.2 percent of his passes for 242 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Trickett Bowl Part Deux — the Mountaineer QB strolled into Stillwater and dropped a cool 21 for 30 for 238 yards and two scores. You guessed it. Cowboys lose 34-10.

2015 – At West Virginia

This was a fun one. The “Cardiac Cowboys” were in the midst of a 10-game winning streak behind their two-headed QB attack. Mason Rudolph may have had the worst game of his OSU career going scoreless with three interceptions, but the defense and Zach Sinor shined in a battle of field position.

“The General” marched down the field to get the only quarterback-scored touchdown in overtime and the defense held the Mountaineers on fourth down to seal the win. Cowboys take it 33-26.