SHEPHERDSTOWN — Nothing comes easy for West Virginia University football. And sometimes, nothing comes at all.

Frantic finishes in both a pull-it out win over the University of Kansas and a miss-at-the-end loss to Pitt have the cliff hanging Mountaineers coming into this weekend with a 2-2 record.

It won’t be easy or even very enjoyable at T. Boone Pickens Stadium in sometimes raucous Stillwater, Okla.

The up-tempo Cowboys were already 3-1 going to last Saturday’s game against flinty Kansas State.

The lone loss came by a few points against nationally ranked the University of Utah.

Last year, OSU beat the Mountaineers, 48-34, when it scored 28 points in the fourth quarter.

With a 2-2 overall mark, West Virginia has everything to play for, including the Big 12 title, a major bowl berth and a winning season that will fetch another bowl bid of some kind.

Here comes the “nothing easy” part.

Literally outscoring the Cowboys will take showing a defense that won’t keep allowing bushels of points.

Mountaineer quarterback Garrett Greene has generated ground yardage as well as passing yardage with his impromptu runs after dropping to pass.

But impromptu plays can do only so much against teams that can score over 30 points on West Virginia’s defense.

Eight games remain. Kansas State, Iowa State, Arizona, Central Florida and Oklahoma State will all be favored over the Mountaineers.

Even if Baylor, Cincinnati and Texas Tech can be tamed, at least one of those teams favored over the Mountaineers has to fall just to reach the six-win level and bowl eligibility.

Seeing any opponent score over 30 points will mean either a last-minutes win or an exasperating loss.

Can this team win any game by 10 points or more? It’s unlikely. Just chew your fingernails up to the elbow and hang on for dear life.

A lack of defining depth is always a problem for the Mountaineers to overcome. And seeing so many opponents who can sting you, means some WVU players will be remaining in games where a rest for them would prove disastrous.

They just keep coming in the Big 12. Your team just needs to keep coming.

Prepare yourself for repeated trouble. Prepare yourself for needed individual as well as team-wide heroics.

Oklahoma State is only the first team in a long line of eight more opponents that can deal the Mountaineers more than heartburn and staring at a list of “what ifs.”