Cowboys Win Thriller over Mountaineers in Stillwater

Zachary LowNovember 17, 2018 No Comments

Oklahoma State entered today’s game against West Virginia as underdogs, while the Mountaineers were holding on to their hopes for a Big 12 Championship Game appearance, but it was the Cowboys who came out on top in Stillwater thanks to a last-minute touchdown to give them their only lead of the day at 45-41.

West Virginia started the game with the ball, and the offense went right to work, as they have done pretty much all season. It took quarterback Will Grier and the Mountaineers a little over 3 minutes to score as Kennedy McKoy ran it in for a 5-yard score to put West Virginia up 7-0.

After some punting action from both teams, it was Oklahoma State’s offense that was able to hit pay dirt as Taylor Cornelius guided the Cowboys down the field before he found Tylan Wallace for a 7-yard strike to tie the game up at 7-7.

The Mountaineers answered on their next possession, this time off a 13-yard connection from Will Grier to Gary Jennings to give West Virginia a 14-7 lead. Oklahoma State’s next possession didn’t last long as Tylan Wallace fumbled after catching a pass from Taylor Cornelius, giving the Mountaineers the ball through the end of the first quarter.

After moving the ball prior to the end of the first quarter, it took West Virginia just one play in the second to find the end zone again. Grier hit David Sills for a 22-yard touchdown, and the Mountaineers led 21-7.

Cornelius and the Cowboys got the ball moving again, fortunately, and after a couple of solid rushes by LD Brown, Cornelius hit Logan Carter for a 20-yard touchdown to make it 21-14.

Both teams locked in on defense at this point as neither offense was able to score. Cornelius threw an interception, West Virginia was stopped on 4th & 1 inside the Cowboy 10, and it looked like neither team would score before the half.

In the final couple of minutes of the second quarter, however, Kennedy McKoy found an opening and ran 30 yards for his second touchdown of the day, and Evan Staley kicked in a field goal as time expired to make it 31-14 in favor of the Mountaineers headed into the half.

Oklahoma State came out in the second half a bit renewed as Cornelius led the Cowboys down the field with ease yet again. Once deep in Mountaineer territory, Cornelius hit Chuba Hubbard on a 1-yard pass for a touchdown to make it 31-21.

On the next possession, it was West Virginia that made a mistake as Will Grier fumbled the ball, and the Cowboys recovered it. Oklahoma State made it all the way down to the Mountaineer 5-yard line with a fresh set of downs, but the Cowboys were forced to settle for a field goal to make it 31-24.

With all the momentum on their side, the Cowboy defense stepped up once again to force West Virginia to punt. Unfortunately, Dillon Stoner was unable to hang on to the return, and he coughed it up for the fourth Cowboy turnover over the day, and the third quarter would end with the Mountaineers on top by a touchdown.

The Cowboy defense was able to buckle down in the red zone and hold West Virginia to a field goal on the first play of the final period, making it 34-24, and giving the Mountaineers a double-digit lead once again.

Each team punted it once before Oklahoma State took just over 3 minutes to march towards the end zone once again, and this time, Cornelius found Tyron Johnson for a 6-yard touchdown. The pass was Cornelius’s fourth touchdown pass of the day to cut the deficit to 34-31.

Feeling their lead slip away, the Mountaineers were finally able to find the end zone for the first time of the second half. It took West Virginia just a little over 3 minutes as well, and on 4th and goal, Will Grier rushed in from the 6-yard line to push the lead back to double digits and make it 41-31.

Knowing it was do or die, it took Oklahoma State less than 3 minutes to score this time. Cornelius continued to pick apart the Mountaineer defense with his passing game, and then he used his feet to run in the ball the 9-yard line to make it 41-38 with fewer than 5 minutes left in the game.

Oklahoma State’s defense stepped up in a big way and held West Virginia, forcing the Mountaineers to punt the ball, and the Cowboys took full advantage. This time, it was the ground game that got the work done as Cornelius and Hubbard both ran all over the field before Cornelius was able to find Tylan Wallace in the end zone to give Oklahoma State the lead for the first time of the day at 45-41.

On the final possession of the game, West Virginia was able to march into the red zone with just two seconds left on the clock. After two timeouts, the Mountaineers ran a desperation pass play, but A.J. Green was able to knock the ball down and secure the win for the Cowboys.

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