[12:00 PM] #16 West Virginia @ Texas

Who will WIN this matchup?

#16 West Virginia Mountaineers (7-1)

@ Texas Longhorns (5-4)

 

Current odds:

West Virginia Mountaineers: (+105)

Texas Longhorns: (-125)

 

• ESPN simulations have Texas as XX% favorites to win the game.

• XX% of sports bets are currently on West Virginia to win as (TBD) favorites.

• The line for this game is Texas by 2 points.

• There is still a lot of work to do, but No. 10 West Virginia still has control of its hope to win the Big 12 regular season title. The next step comes Saturday at Texas, where the Longhorns are 4-0 this season and riding a two-game winning streak after a 45-37 victory at Texas Tech last week.

• The Mountaineers may be without running back Rushel Shell (503 yards, five touchdowns), who missed last week with an ankle injury, but a balanced offense was sparked last week by rushing efforts from Justin Crawford (129 yards) and Kennedy McKoy (127). Quarterback Skyler Howard, who had a 260-yard, three touchdown game last week, has completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 2,293 yards and 16 TDs. The senior connected for 104 yards to Daikiel Shorts and 102 to Shelton Gibson against Kansas.

• The Longhorns may have salvaged their season on the recent strength of their improved defensive play after coach Charlie Strong took control of the play-calling four games ago. Foreman surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark in 10 straight games and with 1,446 yards this season averages 180.8 per game. The effectiveness of freshman quarterback Shane Buechele (2,257 yards, 19 touchdowns) to set up the run game could be as effective as Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph in leading the Cowboys to victory over West Virginia two weeks ago.

• West Virginia leads the all-time series 3-2 as the teams have split four games since playing as Big 12 foes.

• Texas is 3-3 in games decided by eight points or fewer this season.

• Ka’Raun White (406 yards, two touchdowns this season) had 132 yards receiving during the Mountaineers’ 38-20 victory over the Longhorns in Morgantown last season.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: West Virginia Mountaineers

Confidence: 5/10

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