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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For much of the first half of Oklahoma State's defeat of West Virginia, it seemed the Cowboy defense had no answers for the rushing duo of quarterback Michael Hawkins and running back Cam Cook.  But a wise adjustment by defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity and a string of critical plays helped the Cowboys turn a double-digit deficit into a 41-24 victory on Saturday night at Milan Puskar Stadium. Here's a look at five moments that turned the night around for the Oklahoma State defense.  Adjusting the front Oklahoma State opened the game almost exclusively in a three-man front, adding a third linebacker to the typical personnel grouping to get one more fast tackler on the field.  But when West Virginia put up 182 yards and 14 points on its first three possessions, Cassity swung back to the 4-2-5 scheme that has been his base defense all season. "I think us going back to a little bit more of what we know and play a little faster and not think as much," head coach Eric Morris said of the adjustment. "I think it allowed us to play a lot more free as a defense and see it and play by the rules. That was a good adjustment by Coach Cassity." Morris didn't go into detail about how big a part of the game plan the three-man front was, but Cassity has shown himself as a creative and versatile play-caller, so it's likely he had his team ready to attack in either front. Yet when the four-man look worked better, he leaned on it heavily. The change had a rather immediate impact. On its first possession after the switch, West Virginia needed 11 plays to go just 46 yards, until Keviyan Huddleston got his hand on a pass that led to Mose Phillips III's interception — more on that later. OSU got its first three-and-out of the day on the next possession. And though the Mountaineers got points on their first two drives of the second half, the defense clamped down once again and the offense put the game away. Tip drill When Phillips arrived to speak to the media after the game, he did not yet know who tipped the pass that he intercepted. When he learned it was Huddleston, he was quick to make sure the defensive end got proper credit. And Huddleston deserves a nod for the play before the pick. On second-and-4, he quickly diagnosed Hawkins' handoff to Cam Cook, slid toward the middle and made the first hit for a stop at the line of scrimmage.  That left WVU in third-and-4, when Hawkins faked a handoff and rolled out to his right. Huddleson again had his eyes in the right place, remained patient and drifted outside with Hawkins. Recognizing a pass was coming, he reached up and batted the pass into the air. Phillips had his back to the play but realized from the action around him that the ball had been tipped. He looked up just in time to cradle the ball. At the time of the interception, less than four minutes remained in the half. A touchdown would've put WVU up 21-6 with pressure on the OSU offense to respond before halftime. Instead, Phillips returned the interception to the OSU 45 and set up the offense for its first touchdown drive of the night.  Solo stop In the middle of the third quarter, West Virginia faced third-and-goal from the 4-yard line when Hawkins stepped through the line and into a one-on-one situation. Though he had a defender in front of him — OSU nickelback Christian Bodnar — the open space to his right looked like more than enough for his quick feet to get to. But as he broke for it, Bodnar dove and wrapped up Hawkins' ankles in a touchdown-saving tackle. Instead of the 28-21 lead a TD would've provided, the Mountaineers had to take a field goal for a 24-21 advantage. And it turned out to be their final points of the night. The stand WVU moved back into OSU territory on its next possession, trailing 28-24. With under two minutes left in the third quarter, the OSU defense came up with a critical fourth-down stop that was perhaps the most significant blow to West Virginia's positive energy. It wasn't just a single play, but three straight short-yardage stops for the turnover on downs. On second-and-2, Cook cut left where OSU defensive end James Williams appeared to be locked up by a blocker. But Williams reached out with his right arm and swung Cook to the ground for a 1-yard gain. On third-and-1, Hawkins ran right, but Quinton Hammonds had the outside lane stopped and Jerry Lawson pushed through the middle as the two combined for the tackle at the line of scrimmage. On fourth-and-1, WVU's power backfield was blown up and Amari Latimer was stopped for a loss and a turnover on downs. Again, it was Huddleston who delivered the first blow before others piled on. Holmes gets home After the fourth-down stop, WVU got into Cowboy territory twice more. A sack forced a punt on the first of the two drives, but with less than five minutes on the clock, coach Rich Rodriguez knew he had to go for it the next time, trailing 38-24. Facing fourth-and-5 at the OSU 43, Michael Hawkins dropped back to pass. OSU's Vincent Holmes came from the inside on a safety blitz and defensive end Jaleel Johnson came from the blind side, meeting to bring Hawkins down for yet another turnover on downs. Oklahoma State added another field goal to make it a three-score game, and essentially slam the door shut on any potential comeback.