If misery loves company, as they say, Saturday’s matchup between the Sooners and Mountaineers is a table-setter for two programs that are struggling at the moment to find their team identity.
Oklahoma (15-6) is 3-5 in Big 12 play and coming off an embarrassing 30-point loss at home to Baylor that followed a 31-point home win over Vanderbilt just 48 hours before. West Virginia, picked to finish third in the conference in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, has been the biggest surprise so far this season in the Big 12.
The Mountaineers (9-12, 1-7) began the season ranked 13th in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll, but has just nine wins in 21 games and has won just once in eight games in Big 12 action.