MORGANTOWN - There were two tiny bright spots for WVU fans in the immediate aftermath of their Mountaineers' flop to Oklahoma on ABC in prime time Saturday night.
One is at least their team didn't give up, scoring 21 points in the second half. The second is, hey, at least now they can stop worrying about where their Mountaineers are placed in the College Football Playoff rankings.
They can stop trying to figure out what twisted logic the CFP committee is using from week to week. The Shadow knew what lurked in the hearts of men, but certainly no one knows what lurks in the minds of CFP committee members.
That's over. Oklahoma made sure of it in the first half of Saturday's Big 12 matchup. By the end of the half, the Sooners had rolled up 357 total yards and 34 points in front of a frigid Milan Puskar Stadium crowd of 57,645.
And West Virginia's team helped in a big way. Older Mountaineer fans probably had flashbacks to their team's old days playing against Penn State.
The opponent then and Saturday was better. The Mountaineers then and Saturday helped with dumb mistake after mistake.
Know, though, West Virginia had everything stacked against it heading into Saturday's game. Almost no national analyst gave the Mountaineers a chance. The WVU resume was knocked. But more importantly, almost every stat gave the Sooners an edge.
WVU's No. 28 pass efficiency defense? Oklahoma had the No. 10 pass offense.
The Mountaineers' No. 34 rush offense? The Sooners had the No. 30 rush defense.
West Virginia's No. 51 rush defense? OU had the No. 27 rush offense.
One could have gone on and on. Kickoff return defense, kickoff returns, net punting, punt returns? Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma and Oklahoma.
The only statistical advantages West Virginia had heading into the game were in regard to its pass offense and punt return defense.
Also, as an Associated Press poll voter, I chart potential NFL prospects for teams across the country to get an idea for my preseason ballot. In the Big 12, it wasn't even close. Oklahoma had far and away the most in the Big 12.
On the preseason all-Big 12 team, Oklahoma had five - on the defense alone. It had four more on offense, including the Offensive Player of the Year, Baker Mayfield. West Virginia had one - Tyler Orlosky - on offense and one - Noble Nwachukwu - on defense.
In other words, the Vegas oddsmakers might have had OU as a 3- to 4-point favorite heading into the game, but, realistically, it was a mismatch.
Still, criticism must be leveled after the pratfall. Dana Holgorsen and staff didn't have their team ready at game's start for prime time. Quarterback Skyler Howard was off early and looked lost. The defense appeared as if it was doing a mannequin challenge. The team overall was undisciplined. It lost its cool in the first half on a cold night. Really, the best fight WVU put up before halftime was in a pre-game skirmish at midfield.
It's one thing to be outmanned by Oklahoma. It's another to be embarrassed. Twitter had lots of fun at West Virginia's expense.
Give credit to OU's Bob Stoops and the Sooners. It made a statement that, hey, maybe there is a Big 12 team worthy of CFP consideration. Meanwhile, WVU challenged Louisville for the weekend's biggest pratfall.
Again, WVU was outmatched. It set up that way before the season. It set up that way before the game. It proved to be the case Saturday.
Yet playing at home before a nice - albeit shivering and early departing - crowd, West Virginia went to its locker room afterward with red faces.
And, unfortunately for it, not because of the cold.
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In regard to WVU's team, all that's left to figure out now is the bowl game in which it will participate after games at Iowa State and home to Baylor.
If it helps, among those in the press box for the OU-WVU matchup were Dennis Waldron and Noel Rivers III of the Sugar Bowl, Bill Flynn and David Whitfield of the Peach Bowl, Mike McFeeley and Dave Jacobs of the Russell Athletic Bowl and Derrick Fox of the Alamo Bowl.
If you're unaware, the worst the Big 12 champion can do is play in the Sugar Bowl. When that game isn't in the CFP rotation, it's an anchor bowl for the Big 12 and SEC. If the Big 12 champ goes to the CFP, the No. 2 league team goes to New Orleans.
That team will be either Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. So bet the Russell Athletic or Alamo at this point.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle