The WVU Mountaineers played one of their most complete games of the season last week, despite losing the game. WVU dropped a hard-fought battle on Thursday night against Baylor, 17-14.
The loss is the Mountaineers’ fourth straight, dropping their record to 3-5 on the year.
Even though they came up just short, coach Neal Brown and his team played an incredible game. While WVU didn’t end up in the win column, it did cover the spread with ease, sending Mountain State bettors home happy.
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WVU entered its matchup with the Bears as more than 17-point underdogs. After the game got underway, it was clear that the Mountaineers had a chance to truly compete.
Although the offense disappointed yet again, WVU’s defense was stellar all night. Baylor was held to just 17 points after averaging around 39 coming into the game.
The Mountaineers had a big third quarter that included a kickoff return for a touchdown, but some misfortunes led to another defeat. Betting on WVU football finally paid off this week and the team will try to continue their quality play when they return home to Morgantown.
WVU will play its first home game in nearly a month this Saturday when it hosts Texas Tech.
Unlike the past few games, the Mountaineers will enter this one with a real chance of coming away with a victory. The Red Raiders have an identical 1-4 Big 12 Conference record in 2019.
With a much smaller point spread attached to this game, West Virginia sportsbooks should be flush with betting action. The betting market in the state has been growing quickly since the addition of online sports betting apps:
The overall handle in the state set a new record for the week of Oct. 26 and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The last month of college football should continue to keep gambling figures high.
Let’s examine WVU’s last game more closely and take a look ahead at this week’s tilt with Texas Tech.
WVU Covers Spread
For the first time in a while, the Mountaineers put money into their fans’ pockets. By only losing to Baylor by three points, the team covered the betting spread without any issues.
WVU failed to cover the number in its last three contests, against Oklahoma, Iowa State, and Texas.
Although the offensive unit failed to score a single point in the first half, the Mountaineers had life because of their great defense. They only surrendered seven first-half points to Baylor’s explosive attack.
Then in the third quarter, two massive plays had the WVU faithful believing an upset was in store.
Quarterback Austin Kendall hit George Campbell with a beautiful pass over the top that went for an 83-yard touchdown. The strike tied the game at seven about halfway through the quarter.
After Charlie Brewer got the Bears back in front with his second touchdown toss of the night, WVU earned it right back. Freshman Winston Wright took the following kickoff back 95 yards to knot the game up once again.
Baylor kicked a field goal to go back up by three, but WVU had the ball deep in the Bears’ territory late. Another offensive drive stalled and the Mountaineers brought out kicker Casey Legg with a chance to tie the game.
With less than four minutes remaining, Legg’s 43-yard attempt was up and good but a costly delay of game penalty led to WVU’s demise. On the next try, Baylor’s Bravvion Roy got a hand on the ball to block the Mountaineers’ chance of forcing overtime.
While WVU bettors got a silver lining in an easy win at the sportsbook, the loss still stings.
The Mountaineers committed too many mistakes and the offense sputtered all night. As a whole, the unit gained just 219 total yards and turned the ball over twice.
Even though WVU let one slip through its fingers, easier times are ahead. The final four conference games are much easier than the beginning of its schedule.
WVU Football Predictions
The start of the final stretch of the WVU college football season is a home game against the struggling Red Raiders. They are in the midst of a losing streak as well, having dropped their last three contests.
In its last game, Texas Tech lost to the lowly Kansas Jayhawks, 37-34. Kansas was previously 0-5 in conference play.
Since giving up just 13 points to its first two opponents combined, Texas Tech has allowed at least 33 points in five straight games. WVU will have a real opportunity to break out on offense this week.
The Mountaineers will need to, though, because the Red Raiders are more than efficient with the ball.
Quarterback Jett Duffey currently leads an offense that averages nearly 31 points per game. He took over for the injured Alan Bowman and has looked impressive thus far.
In spite of taking the loss, he threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns against Kansas. Duffey also is a threat with his legs in the running game. He added 40 yards on six carries against the Jayhawks.
Texas Tech features several capable running backs, too. SaRodorick Thompson leads the bunch with 549 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s one of three backs on the roster with more than 50 carries on the year, averaging at least 5.2 yards per carry.
The Red Raiders spread the ball around in the air as well. In their last game, 11 different players caught a pass.
WVU will need its defense to continue to play as well as it did against Baylor in order to give its offense a chance.
Even though the Mountaineers technically come into this matchup as underdogs, they’re only receiving around two points from sportsbooks. After coming so close in its previous game, expect for WVU to play with a purpose on Saturday.
WVU Football Odds
In the difficult Big 12, most wins are hard to come by. WVU has to use its home-field advantage and take care of business this week against Texas Tech.
The Mountaineers could have success in their final three games, but no future foe is more beatable than the Raiders are now. With a close game likely, look for the WVU fans inside Milan Puskar Stadium to be rocking early and often.
Thanks to DraftKings and FanDuel, bettors in WV can place a bet through one of the two available mobile sports betting apps. Here are this weekend’s odds according to both online platforms:
Spread | Total | Moneyline | |
---|---|---|---|
WVU vs. Texas Tech | |||
DraftKings | WVU +2.5 | 59.5 | WVU +114 Texas Tech -139 |
FanDuel | WVU +2.5 | 60 | WVU +120 Texas Tech -140 |
Last updated: Nov. 7, 2019