Frank Lorenzo
(22) West Virginia Mountaineers at Oklahoma State Cowboys (-1, 65 o/u)
Two surprise Big 12 contenders clash this Saturday when the West Virginia Mountaineers (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) visit the Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-2, 3-1 Big 12). Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
(22) West Virginia Mountaineers at Oklahoma State Cowboys (-1, 65 o/u)
Two surprise Big 12 contenders clash this Saturday when the West Virginia Mountaineers (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) visit the Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-2, 3-1 Big 12). Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
Though both teams have put together solid seasons thus far and have identical records, their most recent performances were anything but similar. Last weekend, West Virginia stunned then-undefeated Baylor 41-27 for their third straight win. The Mountaineers prevailed despite turning the ball over three times in the game.
“I felt like we were pretty good,” coach Dana Holgorsen told the team’s official website. “I commend our players for being very motivated. … (But) you turn the page and move on. We’ve got Oklahoma State (this week), which will be a tough game on the road.”
The Mountaineers have the sixth best passing offense in the country but, against the Bears, it was their defense that stole the show, holding Baylor to a season-low 318 yards.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, know that they cost themselves a chance at a playoff berth last weekend in a blowout loss to TCU. The Horned Frogs dominated in every facet of the game, out-gaining the Cowboys 676 yards to 258 and ultimately winning 42-9.
“We haven’t had a day like that in a long time around here,” said coach Mike Gundy, whose team failed to score a touchdown for the first time in 59 games. “Our team is doing just fine. They’ll practice hard this week, and they’ll play hard this Saturday.” The poor offensive performance is all the more surprising when you consider that OK State had been averaging 37 points per game and TCU’s defense had given up 33 and 61 points in the previous two weeks.
Gundy will look to get his offense back on track against the Mountaineers. The West Virginia defense is surrendering a respectable 27 points per game this season, but that number jumps to 35.5 on the road.
Despite West Virginia’s recent success, home field advantage has the Cowboys positioned as one-point favorites; the over/under sits at 65 for what should be a high scoring affair.
