NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma knew West Virginia's secondary was going to challenge the Sooners' receivers with man-to-man coverage.

The No. 23 Mountaineers did that and Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield and the OU receivers made them pay, coming up with a 44-24 win in front of 84,384 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

West Virginia's defense came into the game as the top scoring defense in college football and No. 1 in turnover margin.

"But we felt as if they haven't played anybody of our caliber," Sooners receiver Dede Westbrook said. "We're loaded really at the receiver spot. You're not going to play us one-on-one. That's total disrespect and we came and we proved ourselves."

Westbrook had five catches for 107 yards for the No. 15 Sooners (4-0, 1-0 Big 12).

The Sooners made them pay with several big plays down the field, none bigger than the 71-yard touchdown pass to Durron Neal from Mayfield in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

That score put Oklahoma's lead, which had narrowed to a field goal after being up 17 at halftime, back to double digits and turned the momentum back the Sooners' way.

"The way they come at you defensively, they're going to get their plays and pressure you," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "You've got to get your big plays on them and we did."

West Virginia (3-1, 0-1) turned the ball over five times while forcing two Oklahoma turnovers.

"I thought we played well in the third quarter after a bad first half but their defense was better than us in the fourth quarter," Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said.

The Sooners came up with two crucial turnovers in the fourth, including Eric Striker's forced fumble on a sack early in the quarter. Fellow OU linebacker Jordan Evans picked up the fumble and took it in for 41 yards out to all but seal the game.

On the next drive, West Virginia's Skyler Howard was intercepted for the second time by sophomore cornerback Jordan Thomas.

"We forced some things in the fourth quarter and you can't do that against a defense like this," Holgorsen said.

Striker's sack was one of seven by Oklahoma's offense. Striker finished with 13 tackles and a pair of sacks.

The Sooners had forced just two turnovers in their first three games.

"It just gets down to players making plays and getting pressure on the quarterback and those types of things," Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. "They come in bunches usually. The ball didn't bounce our way the first couple games. We created more opportunities this game."

Oklahoma looked like it had the game well in control after building a 24-7 lead at halftime.

But West Virginia's offense, which had struggled through the early part of the game, put together a strong start to the third quarter.

The Mountaineers went on a 15-play, 77-yard drive after holding Oklahoma without a first down on the first drive of the half.

West Virginia then pulled to within a touchdown after Westbrook's fumble on the next possession gave the Mountaineers the ball inside the Sooners 40.

But after gaining 34 yards on the first play, the Mountaineers went backward and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal.

Then it was the Sooners who were forced to settle after forcing a West Virginia turnover inside the Mountaineers 10.

Austin Seibert's 25-yard field goal put the Sooners up 27-17.

But after Howard broke off a 50-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 to put the Mountaineers within a field goal, Mayfield and Oklahoma answered quickly with Neal's long touchdown.

After throwing for 12 touchdowns in eight games -- seven starts -- for Texas Tech in 2013, Mayfield has thrown for 13 touchdowns in four games for the Sooners. He threw his third interception of the season early in the fourth quarter.

Mayfield finished 14 of 25 for 320 yards and three touchdowns.

The Mountaineers had cruised through their first three games, winning by a combined 130-23 and not allowing a first-half score.

But the Sooners broke through quickly on their second drive, as Mayfield led a four-play, 74-yard touchdown drive.

Oklahoma got on the board on receiver Mark Andrews' 17-yard touchdown reception over the middle.

The drive started with back-to-back completions to Michiah Quick for a combined 57 yards.

The receptions were the first two of the season for Quick.

West Virginia answered early in the second quarter with an 86-yard touchdown drive that was aided by 45 yards in penalties by the Sooners.

NOTES: Oklahoma CB Jordan Thomas returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the previous game due to suspension. He had an interception in the first quarter and another in the fourth. ... The teams combined for 13 penalties for 136 yards before halftime. ... Sooners RB Samaje Perine eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for his career late in the first half. ... Former Oklahoma LB Brian Bosworth was honored after the end of the first quarter for his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. At halftime, OU honored the 1985 national title team, which starred Bosworth. ... Oklahoma plays Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Oct. 10, while the Mountaineers host Oklahoma State.