The West Virginia Mountaineers are coming off their first win in Manhattan since joining the Big 12. They will need to keep on rolling this week if they want to remain as a top 25 team heading into Week 13. The Mountaineers have won back-to-back games over Iowa State and Kansas State to improve to 7-3. However, they still face a tough schedule to close out the year beginning at home against the Texas Longhorns this weekend followed by a visit to Norman to face No. 4 Oklahoma.
It’s a bit of a turning point for West Virginia: lose this and they’ll probably lose next week, and all of the sudden a positive season turns to 7-5. Win this week and they are at least an eight-win team that will get to a respectable bowl. This game is important.
As for Texas, they need this one too. They took a small step forward with a win over Kansas last week but have still won just twice in their last five games. Now the Longhorns get the chance to play spoiler versus West Virginia and they need this to get to a sixth win. They’ll finish out the season at home to Texas Tech but they’d rather not a bowl berth up to their final game.
Details
Odds: West Virginia -3
Date & Time: Saturday November 18th, 2017 – 12:00 PM ET
Location: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
Broadcast: ESPN
Reasons To Bet On The Texas Longhorns
Texas picked up an important win over the Jayhawks last week to improve to 5-5. Now they need a win over either West Virginia or the Texas Tech Red Raiders in order to qualify for a bowl game. The defense stepped up big time last week with defensive back Antwuan Davis leading the way. Davis registered two interceptions, a fumble recovery and scored a touchdown in just his second start of the season. The defense will need to play at a high level again this week in order to try to slow down the West Virginia attack. Meanwhile on offense, sophomore quarterback Shane Buehele threw for 249 yards and a touchdown with an interception in last week’s win. As long as he limits his mistakes in this one then Texas should have a chance to keep it close on the road.
Reasons To Bet On The West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers are capable of scoring points in bunches with junior quarterback Will Grier leading the way from under center. Grier threw for 372 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s win over Kansas State but also had two interceptions. Grier needs to continue to put up big numbers while limiting his turnovers in order for West Virginia’s offense to reach its peak potential. Meanwhile, senior running back Justin Crawford is coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances in each of the Mountaineers last two wins. West Virginia’s commitment to running the football has helped provide a better balance on offense and made them that much more dangerous on that side of the football. If the Mountaineers are firing on all cylinders they will be tough for Texas to slow down this weekend.
Outlook
The Mountaineers opened up as a three-point favorite in this spot and that’s where they are currently. However, the betting line did get as high as -3.5 at one point before moving back down. The total has moved much more significantly. It opened up at 57 and has since shifted down with consistency. At press time, the over-under sits at 53.5.
While the Longhorns did pick up a win last week, it’s still fairly hard to trust this team on the road against a talented opponent that is very capable of scoring points in bunches. West Virginia is on a mission in the Big 12 and should be feeling extremely confident following last week’s victory. The Mountaineers offense should continue to roll this week with a chance to pick up another statement victory at home. Look for West Virginia to win and cover at home.
Pick: West Virginia -3
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