Oklahoma football: Sooners score 20, leave 20 on the field at West Virginia

The streaky Oklahoma football season continued on Saturday with a second straight loss.

The Sooners lost 24-21 on Saturday on a last-second, game-winning field goal by West Virginia’s Casey Legg as time expired. If you thought that guy, with the perfect name for his position, was going to miss from that distance, forget it. He is a perfect 13 of 13 this season.

Through 10 games in what has been a gloomy season for the Sooners, much like the cool and wet weather conditions at West Virginia’s Milan-Puskar Stadium on Saturday, Oklahoma won three games to open the 2022 season. That was followed by three horrific losses, then two straight wins and now two consecutive defeats.

If you follow that pattern, OU should win its final two regular-season games. But I certainly wouldn’t count on it.

West Virginia found a way to win a game they probably shouldn’t have on a miserable day weatherwise; Oklahoma found a way to lose it. That’s the story, pure and simple.

Here are some more numbers that tell the sad story of the game:

.09 — Oklahoma converted just 1 of 11 third-down attempts vs. West Virginia, a success rate of nine percent.

1 — Oklahoma still needs one more victory to earn bowl eligibility with two games remaining (Oklahoma State in Norman on Saturday and at Texas Tech).

2 — The OU defense had two sacks of West Virginia starting quarterback JT Daniels in a little over a quarter and no sacks on backup Garrett Greene for two-plus quarters.

4 — The Sooners had just four possessions on offense in the second half that produced one touchdown and just 155 yards of total offense.

12 — The OU defense recorded two sacks and 12 tackles for loss on Saturday. The latter was the second most this season (the Sooners had 14 against Kent State).

37 — West Virginia’s third-down conversion success rate on Saturday (7 of 19). It was the seventh time this season Oklahoma has held an opponent below 40 percent in third-down conversions.

98 — Receiving yards by OU’s Marvin Mims on four receptions vs. West Virginia. He had a 67-yard catch that set up the Sooners’ first touchdown. He now has 17 career catches of 40 or more yards. Mims is now tied with Ryan Broyles for the fourth most 40-yard receptions in Oklahoma history.

119 — Rushing yards by West Virginia backup quarterback Garrett Greene, a career best.

200 — The Sooners have plenty of issues this season, but there is nothing wrong with OU’s running game. OU rushed for 236 yards and 5.9 yards per carry against West Virginia, the sixth time this year the Sooners have exceeded 200 yards rushing in a game.

203 — Rushing yards allowed by OU against West Virginia. It was the fifth time this season a Sooner opponent rushed for more than 200 yards as a team in a game.

211– Rushing yards by Eric Gray against West Virginia on Saturday, the most in his two seasons as a Sooner. He averaged 8.4 yards on 25 carries.

2008 – The last time West Virginia beat Oklahoma was in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, a 48-28 victory over Sam Bradford and the Sooners.