[3:35 PM] #18 West Virginia @ Iowa State

Who will WIN this matchup?

#18 West Virginia Mountaineers (8-2)

@ Iowa State Cyclones (3-8)

 

• West Virginia will try and put behind the disappointment of having its Big 12 Conference title hopes crushed with a home loss to Oklahoma when it travels to suddenly red-hot Iowa State on Saturday. The Cyclones have won back-to-back Big 12 games for the first time since the 2013 season and come in off a record-setting 66-10 beatdown of Texas Tech.

• Besides the obvious let-down spot after the deflating 56-28 loss to the Sooners, it will be Senior Day at Iowa State which rolls in with plenty of momentum.

• Quarterback Skyler Howard is completing 63 percent of his passes for 2,753 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and also has rushed for 326 yards and eight more scores. Junior wide receiver Shelton Gibson, who has caught 37 passes for 766 yards and six touchdowns, leads the Big 12 in yards per reception, averaging 20.7 yards per catch while junior running back Justin Crawford is closing on 1,000 yards rushing with 930 yards on just 122 carries — a glossy 7.6 yards per carry.

• The Cyclones set all-time school records for points against a conference opponent (66), margin of victory against a league foe (56), points in a quarter (31) and fell just three points short of most points in a half (48) with 45 in the first 30 minutes in the win over Texas Tech last Saturday. It was the best game this season for Iowa State’s two quarterbacks as Jacob Park threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while Joel Lanning ran for 171 yards and five scores. Wide receiver Allen Lazard leads the team in receptions (65), receiving yards (915) and touchdown receptions (7) while the defense, which is allowing an average of 25.2 points over the last five games, is led by defensive back Kamari Cotton-Moya who returned a Patrick Mahomes pass 48 yards for a touchdown last week, Iowa State’s first pick-six since the 2012 Liberty Bowl.

• Iowa State has lost 19 consecutive games against ranked opponents

 

StreakSmarts Pick: #18 West Virginia Mountaineers

Confidence: 5/10

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