Kansas State vs. West Virginia Total Pick
The West Virginia Mountaineers had an unexpected week off last week due to Hurricane Florence. The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday when they host Kansas State. Is the under a safe play for bettors with the total sitting in the 60s?
Game Snapshot
363 Kansas State Wildcats at 364 West Virginia Mountaineers
3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 22, 2018
Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Mountaineers are 16-point favorites to beat the Wildcats. The total, meanwhile, sits at 60.5 points. As of this writing, 64% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Mountaineers.
Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State junior WR Isaiah Zuber erupted for seven receptions, 144 yards and touchdowns in Saturday’s 41-17 rout of UTSA. Zuber had the offensive highlight of the afternoon for the Wildcats, connecting with backup QB Alex Delton on a 72-yard touchdown in the second half. After playing sparingly last week, Zuber stepped up and was the go-to receiver in this one. In fact, the six other receivers combined for a total of seven catches, so this was the Zuber show. He averaged a gaudy 20.6 yards per reception. The Wildcats have lacked a playmaker in the first two games, so this is a good sign going forward as K-State prepares to travel to West Virginia next week.
West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia senior WR Gary Jennings caught six passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s 52-17 win over Youngstown State. Jennings, who was on the receiving end of three of Will Grier’s four touchdown passes, has now caught six passes in each of West Virginia’s first two games. In the season-opening win over Tennessee, Jennings’ six grabs resulted in 113 yards and a touchdown. And Jennings, who was a second team All-Big 12 selection in 2017, has quadrupled his touchdown count from a season ago in just two games played.
Betting Trends
Kansas State
The Wildcats are 1-4 against the spread in their last five games played in September and are 0-4 against the number in their last four games coming off an ATS win.
West Virginia
The Mountaineers are 1-3-1 against the spread in their last five home games and are 1-4-1 against the number in their last six conference games.
Prediction
Kansas State is a perfect under team. While their run defense leaves something to be desired, the Wildcats are holding opponents to a respectable 24.0 points per game and rank 46th in pass defense. The other half of the equation is that Bill Snyder’s team is 104th in total offense, 107th in passing yards, and are 96th in points scored. The total has been set too high here.
College Football Prediction: Kansas State/West Virginia under 60.5