The BYU Cougars and the West Virginia Mountaineers meet for the first time in the two school’s history at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. The game is scheduled to start on Saturday, September 24th at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Currently, the Cougars are (1-2) after three contests and the Mountaineers come in undefeated at (2-0). Las Vegas has West Virginia as a -7 point favorite with the over/under set at 51.
BYU Cougars:
BYU is coming off a defeat to the UCLA Bruins. The Cougars came up short on their come back bid and lost to the Bruins 17-14. In fact, BYU’s two losses are by less than six points combined.
The Cougars will have their backs to the wall when they stroll into FedEx Field on Saturday. BYU is peppered with junior and senior experience and will not wilt under the early season pressure.
Senior quarterback Taysom Hill hasn’t performed up to his expectations. The Cougar’s signal-caller has been average, completing 68 passes for 628 yards with two touchdowns. To make matters worse, Hill has already tossed four interceptions in just three games. He will need to take better care of the rock against a solid Mountaineer secondary.
Running back Jamal Williams has been a bright spot for the Cougar offense. The senior ball carrier has 55 carries for 248 yards and one score. Taysom Hill utilized his duel-threat ability, running for over a hundred yards on 34 carries and two more trips to the end-zone.
Wide receiver Moroni Laulu-Pututau and Nick Kurtz have been the recipients of the majority of Taysom Hill’s passes. Laulu-Pututau has gathered in 13 catches for 131 yards while Kurtz has collected 12 more passes for 127 yards and a score.
The Cougar’s offense might not be holding up their end of the bargain, but the BYU defense has been stout. The front seven has feasted in their opponents backfield amassing 22 tackles for losses over the first three match-ups. The UCLA Bruins were held to just 1.5 yards per carry in last week’s contest.
The secondary has relented to it’s fair share of catches and yards since the start of the season, but have been an opportunistic group. The Cougar’s defensive backfield has already intercepted six passes this year.
West Virginia Mountaineers:
The Mountaineers come into the contest riding high off of a 38-21 victory over FCS opponent Youngstown State. West Virginia looked better last week than it did in a 28-11 win over Missouri. The offense found it’s rhythm early, which it will need to do against one of the best defenses they will face all season.
Skyler Howard may have struggled to get his yardage against Missouri but that wasn’t the case against Youngstown State. Howard was lights-out, throwing for 389 yards and five touchdowns. The senior quarterback will need to produce through the air to keep an aggressive Cougar front seven honest.
West Virginia’s running attack has been average since the opening kick-off to the 2016 season. Justin Crawford and Rushel Shell have combined for 35 carries for 335 yards and two trips to pay-dirt. They will have their work cut-out for them against the phenomenal Cougar front seven.
Wide Receiver Daikiel Shorts Jr. and fellow wide-out Shelton Gibson have caught 26 balls for over 340 yards. Although those numbers don’t jump out at anybody as anything spectacular, Gibson did reel in six of those catches for 171 yards and two scores in last week’s game.
The Mountaineer defense lost eight starters to graduation so it’s a relatively untested group heading into their showdown with the Cougars. The greenhorns gave up plenty of yardage to Missouri in week one but held them to field goals when it counted. The BYU Cougars are struggling to find their way offensively, so another bend but don’t break performance would suit coach Dan Holgorsen just fine.
Trends and Notes:
This is the very first meeting between the two schools.
Cougars are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 vs. Big 12.
Cougars are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
Under is 18-6 in Mountaineers last 24 games overall.
Mountaineers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games.
Game Prediction:
Were looking at a low scoring game in Maryland this weekend. West Virginia has a good offense but this BYU defense is battle tested and will be able to slow the Mountaineers down. The Cougars should be able to keep the ball for their fair share by collecting first downs via the ground. West Virginia’s defense is a work in progress, but they should be okay against an unproductive BYU offense.
Odds-makers might have bitten off more than they could chew, posting this game’s total at 51. They might not even reach 45. BYU may be worn out from it’s impressive schedule through three weeks of football, but they boast the better defense of the two teams.
Considering that the Cougars have lost two games against tough opponents by less than six points, the -7 might be too much. The Cougars might not win, but they will cover a touchdown. Take the underdog in a grudge-match on neutral turf on Saturday.
Under 51 and BYU to cover the seven.
