PREMIUM
GAME OF THE WEEK (Rogers' 10* NCAAF) >> Wisconsin over Iowa Last Week!
(NCAAF) Texas vs. West Virginia,
Point Spread: 3.50 | -115.00 Texas (Away)
Result: Win
Point Spread: 3.50 | -115.00 Texas (Away)
Result: Win
The set-up: Big-12 schools Wets Virginia (22nd) and Texas (23rd) both opened ranked in the AP's preseason poll. The two teams meet at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown on Saturday with the 5-5 (4-3 in Big 12) Texas Longhorns looking to avoid a fourth straight losing season (note: Texas football began back in 1893 and the only time the school has produced four straight losing season was back from 1935 through 1938), while the 7-3 West Virginia Mountaineers are one of three teams at 5-2 in the Big 12 (along with TCU and Oklahoma State), trailing the 6-1 first-place Sooners. Understandably, Texas is unranked, while the Mountainers are 24th in the AP and 25th in the Coaches poll but were left out the CFP rankings.
Texas: The Longhorns entered last Saturday's home game against lowly Kansas with three losses in their previous four contests but were able to hold off Kansas 42-27, climbing back at .500. QBs Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger both threw TD passes in the game, as Tom Herman just can't decide which QB is his No. 1 guy. Sophomore Buechele is the more polished passer and freshman Ehlinger the bigger threat to run. The Texas offense is down slightly from last season (averaging 29.9 PPG after averaging 31 PPG in 2016) but the defense has made excellent strides. Texas allowed 31.5 PPG on almost 450 YPG last season but has cut that to 21.9 PPG (3rd) on 367.3 YPG (40th).
West Virginia: The Mountaineers have won four of their last five games to reach eight victories for a third straight year. There is no uncertainty at the QB position for West Va, as Will Grier is completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 3,440 yards with 34 TDs and only 12 INTs. Grier has a trio of outstanding WRs. Jennings (82 catches) and White (51 catches), who both will go over 1,000 yards in receiving yards by year's end plus Sills has 55 catches and an NCAA-high 18 TD receptions. Remember the great line about the NFL's Cris Carter? All he does is catch TDs! The West Va. offense averages 39.0 PPG (12th) but its defense allows 29.2 PPG (82nd) on 436.4 YPG (102nd).
The pick: West Va. head coach Dana Holgorsen has it right. "I'm putting everybody on high alert on this 5-5 thing (with Texas)," Holgorsen said at his weekly Tuesday news conference. "We're sitting here at 7-3 (overall) with three losses to (top-20-ranked) teams, and they (the Longhorns) aren't any different. Those guys have lost close games to the likes of Southern Cal, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU, and the last time I checked, those teams are in the top 15, right?" Texas, meanwhile, needs one more win to become bowl-eligible in coach Tom Herman's first season in Austin, and the new coach also is looking for a signature victory. "We've got to win one that we're not supposed to," Herman said at his Monday news conference. "I think right now, save for the very first game, we've won the ones that we're supposed to and we haven't won the ones that people said we weren't supposed to. So I think that's got to be the next step." Texas out-gained West Va. 536-383 in LY's 24-20 home defeat and how does one overlook Tom Herman's 8-1 ATS mark as an underdog since 2015? Make Texas a 10* play.
Texas: The Longhorns entered last Saturday's home game against lowly Kansas with three losses in their previous four contests but were able to hold off Kansas 42-27, climbing back at .500. QBs Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger both threw TD passes in the game, as Tom Herman just can't decide which QB is his No. 1 guy. Sophomore Buechele is the more polished passer and freshman Ehlinger the bigger threat to run. The Texas offense is down slightly from last season (averaging 29.9 PPG after averaging 31 PPG in 2016) but the defense has made excellent strides. Texas allowed 31.5 PPG on almost 450 YPG last season but has cut that to 21.9 PPG (3rd) on 367.3 YPG (40th).
West Virginia: The Mountaineers have won four of their last five games to reach eight victories for a third straight year. There is no uncertainty at the QB position for West Va, as Will Grier is completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 3,440 yards with 34 TDs and only 12 INTs. Grier has a trio of outstanding WRs. Jennings (82 catches) and White (51 catches), who both will go over 1,000 yards in receiving yards by year's end plus Sills has 55 catches and an NCAA-high 18 TD receptions. Remember the great line about the NFL's Cris Carter? All he does is catch TDs! The West Va. offense averages 39.0 PPG (12th) but its defense allows 29.2 PPG (82nd) on 436.4 YPG (102nd).
The pick: West Va. head coach Dana Holgorsen has it right. "I'm putting everybody on high alert on this 5-5 thing (with Texas)," Holgorsen said at his weekly Tuesday news conference. "We're sitting here at 7-3 (overall) with three losses to (top-20-ranked) teams, and they (the Longhorns) aren't any different. Those guys have lost close games to the likes of Southern Cal, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU, and the last time I checked, those teams are in the top 15, right?" Texas, meanwhile, needs one more win to become bowl-eligible in coach Tom Herman's first season in Austin, and the new coach also is looking for a signature victory. "We've got to win one that we're not supposed to," Herman said at his Monday news conference. "I think right now, save for the very first game, we've won the ones that we're supposed to and we haven't won the ones that people said we weren't supposed to. So I think that's got to be the next step." Texas out-gained West Va. 536-383 in LY's 24-20 home defeat and how does one overlook Tom Herman's 8-1 ATS mark as an underdog since 2015? Make Texas a 10* play.
