Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners are coming off back-to-back losses, the latest being a 27-24 defeat at the hands of Oklahoma State in the final Bedlam meeting in Big 12 history.

Oklahoma (7-2, 4-2) will need to get back on track quickly if they hope to keep their dreams of a Big 12 title game berth alive.

This week, West Virginia (6-3, 4-2) comes to town tied for third place in the Big 12 standings and playing its best football of the season.

Here's a deeper look at the Mountaineers and what kind of challenges they'll present to Oklahoma on Saturday night.

Date: 6:00 p.m. CT, Saturday, November 11

TV: FOX

Radio: 107.7 FM

Record: 6-3 (4-2)

Last Week: West Virginia 37, BYU 7

Head coach: Neal Brown (5th season)

Offensive coordinator: Chad Scott (5th season, 1st season at OC)

Defensive coordinator: Jordan Lesley (5th season, 3rd season as DC)

Key Players

• Offense: QB Garrett Greene, RB CJ Donaldson, RB Jahiem White, WR Devin Carter

• Defense: LB Lee Kpogba, CB Beanie Bishop Jr.

OFFENSE

• Running Game: West Virginia's offense is centered around a strong running game that features both CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White at running back and mobile quarterback Garrett Greene. The Mountaineers lead the Big 12 in rushing in conference play with 226.8 yards on the ground per game. This is a physical, downhill rushing attack that will pose a big challenge to the Sooners' front seven.

• Offensive Line: The West Virginia offensive line is one of the most underrated units in the country with a combination of true NFL talent and experience, led by C Zach Fraizer. In addition to their impressive numbers in the running game, the Mountaineers OL has only allowed three sacks in Big 12 play.

• Time of Possession: West Virginia leads the Big 12 and ranks fourth nationally in T.O.P. with an average of 33:55 per game. Last season against the Sooners, West Virginia held the ball for 37 minutes, very similar to what we saw Oklahoma State do last week.

DEFENSE

• On-Ball Play in Secondary: Minnesota transfer defensive back Beanie Bishop Jr. has been the best on-ball cover corner in the country this season in terms of passes defended. On the year, Bishop has 21 total passes defended with 17 pass breakups and four interceptions on the year.

• Balanced Defense: West Virginia has been pretty even-keeled defensively this season, allowing 366.8 yards per game, with 139.0 yards on the ground and 227.8 passing yards, ranking fourth in the conference in all categories.

OFFENSE

• Passing Production: West Virginia has been the worst passing offense in the Big 12 this season, with just 201.4 yards per game and just 12 passing touchdowns on the season. Greene has shown stretches of good play this season, but the reality is that the running game is where WVU makes its money.

DEFENSE

• Depth: West Virginia has seen a rash of injuries on the defensive side of the ball in 2023, and it has shown at times in the fourth quarter. With offenses like Oklahoma's, who are able to keep things going with tempo throughout the game, the Mountaineers have struggled to keep explosive plays under wraps, and that could be an issue against an OU offense that wants to get things ramped up again this week.

• Win on First Down: One of the biggest keys for Oklahoma this week will be having first down success on both offense and defense. Offensively, the Sooners need to do a good job of staying ahead of the chains to take advantage of every possession they get in this game. On the flip side, the Oklahoma defense needs to knock West Virginia off track early in possessions in order to put them in predictable play-calling scenarios. WVU wants to play keep-away, and dominating first down will help ensure that they can't do that.

• Contain Garrett Greene: Nobody in Crimson and Cream needs an introduction to West Virginia's starting quarterback, as the last time he faced Oklahoma he torched the Sooners with 119 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground. OU has been better this season about keeping mobile quarterbacks contained, but that will be especially important in this game as Greene's biggest plays in the passing game have come when he gets out of the pocket and buys time for his guys downfield.

• Flush the last two weeks: One of the most difficult, and coincidentally most important things for a college athlete is to possess a short memory. Dwelling on the last two weeks will do nothing but place doubt in the minds of this team's playmakers. Learning from their mistakes and getting out to a hot start this week could be just the ticket for Oklahoma to kick things back into gear and finish the season on a high note. So, on Friday night in front of a home crowd, the Sooners need to start fast and put the last two weeks behind them as quickly as possible.

• Eliminate self-inflicted mistakes: During his weekly press conference this week, Coach Venables pointed out that OU has six turnovers and six false starts over the last two weeks, and most of those mistakes came quite literally at the worst times possible. While West Virginia is a very good football team, Oklahoma should win this game if they can play mistake-free football. Since the Texas game that's been hard to come by, but if the Sooners want to move to 8-2, they'll need to find a way to put it all together again on Saturday night.