WVU football team is determined following loss to Oklahoma State

A win by the WVU football team would do wonders as it heads into the final full month of the season.

The Mountaineers could have left the month of October on a high note with a win, but Oklahoma State proved to be too much in the end. Right now, Iowa State has proven to be too much for Oklahoma and TCU, regarded as two of the top teams in the Big 12 Conference.

The WVU football team was knocked from its spot tied for second in the conference with the loss to Oklahoma State. A lot of things could shake out to lift the Mountaineers into the Big 12 Championship Game and one of those would be beating Iowa State.

In previous years, that may have been a pushover. But this year, Iowa State is a top 15 team and coming into Morgantown having just handed TCU its first loss of the season. The mindset of the team will have to change from looking at ISU as an automatic win. The Cyclones have proven they are one of the best teams in the conference by already beating the best teams in the conference.

Head coach Dana Holgorsen doesn’t anticipate a letdown in motivation, he said in his weekly press conference.

"If you can’t be determined to get out there and coach harder and play harder and practice harder and get to a point where you play harder, then why do you do it? We got beat; they beat us. My assessment of not having the right mentality – and I always pinpoint the run game just because that’s where you can see it on the stat sheet – but there are examples everywhere for every position of not having the right mentality that you need to win."

Each game is a test of these players’ will and demeanor. The Mountaineers were knocked down and it’s up to the players and coaches to get back up again. The same goes for the fanbase. Not many people are happy after the loss to OSU and it will be hard for some people to trudge back to Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday to support a losing team.

This WVU football squad has to prove to itself and the fanbase that the losing is no longer acceptable. The same goes for the coaching staff. Dana Holgorsen has seemed to identify the problems and the supposed fixes. Come gameday, the execution from the players and coaches will decide whether the game is won or lost.

The month of November may not be kind to the WVU football team. People are nervous about what these upcoming games against ISU, Kansas State, Texas and Oklahoma hold. The Mountaineers still need one more win to be bowl eligible and some are concerned that they won’t get that sixth win.

There is still a lot to play for with this team and it’s important for the players to realize that. Holgorsen says there needs to be determination and he is the main source of that.

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Holgorsen needs to inspire the team and the players need to finish on the field. The WVU football team could finish the regular season 9-3 or even flatline at 5-7. It’s all a matter of mindset moving forward.

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