Texas vs. West Virginia Spread Pick
The Texas Longhorns will be forced to get off the mat on Saturday afternoon when they host the West Virginia Mountaineers at 3:30 p.m. ET. Will the ‘Horns put their loss to OK State behind them with a win or will the Mounties pull off the small upset?
Game Snapshot
351 West Virginia Mountaineers at 352 Texas Longhorns
3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, November 3, 2018
Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Longhorns are 2-point favorites to beat the Mountaineers. The total, meanwhile, sits at 58 points. As of this writing, 55% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Mountaineers.
Texas Longhorns
Texas sophomore QB Sam Ehlinger completed 22-of-42 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 38-35 loss to Oklahoma State. Ehlinger (6’3/235) showed little negative effects from his shoulder injury. In fact, Ehlinger had his typical big rushing performance — he rushed for 47 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries — which showed he was comfortable taking hits. Ehlinger’s 6.43 yards per pass attempt is quite forgettable, but he was able to lead the Longhorns back in the second half to make the game competitive. Ehlinger will bring a seven game interception-less streak into next week’s game against Will Grier and West Virginia, but the Longhorns’ CFB Playoff run likely ended with Saturday’s loss.
West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia senior QB Will Grier completed 17-of-27 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for a short score in Thursday’s 58-14 win over Baylor. When last we saw Grier and the Mountaineers prior to their bye week, they were being embarrassed by Iowa State in a game that WVU HC Dana Holgorsen called the worst offensive performance that he’d ever seen. They let out their frustration and then some on Thursday, most notably in a 31-point second quarter in which Grier accounted for three of his four total touchdowns. As much as his 100-yard (!) performance against the Cyclones essentially knocked him out of what was a longshot Heisman campaign to begin with, Grier remains one of the most statistically-prolific quarterbacks on the college landscape. For the year, he’s thrown for 2,272 yards with a 25/7 TD/INT ratio. He’ll look to carve up Texas when he next takes the field, on Nov. 3.
Betting Trends
West Virginia
The Mountaineers are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games overall and 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games versus an opponent that owns a winning record.
Texas
The Longhorns are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games following a loss and are 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 games versus a team with a winning record.
Prediction
I took the points with OK State a week ago when Texas lost but I believe the Longhorns will bounce back here. That was a bad spot last week, with the Cowboys playing in Stillwater at night and Tom Herman hasn’t been great as a road favorite while at Texas. Now back in Austin, I see Texas playing much better defensively and while WVU signal-caller Will Grier is dangerous, he’s also been turnover prone this year. I’m laying the small number with the home favorite.
College Football Prediction: Texas Longhorns -2