Big East Football Previews – Louisville vs No. 24 West Virginia
The lead in the Big East Conference will be on the line this Saturday afternoon when the Louisville Cardinals tangle with the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown.
Date/Time: Saturday, November 5 12 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Mountaineers Field, Morgantown, W.VA.
Broadcast: ESPN 3
Cardinals at Mountaineers lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Mountaineers -13.5
Over/Under: 48
Kick-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be available on ESPN3.com.
Louisville dropped four of its first six games including a 25-16 conference loss to Cincinnati as a 13-point road underdog. It has been able to turn things around with a 16-14 win over Rutgers as a one-point home favorite followed by a 27-10 victory over Syracuse this past Saturday as a three-point home favorite. It is now 4-4 straight-up (5-3 against the spread) overall and the total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of its first eight games.
The Cardinals come into this game with an offense that is ranked 113 in the nation in scoring with an average of 17.6 points a game, but a defense that is ranked 11; giving-up an average of just 16.3 points. With this combination it is easy to see why so many games have stayed ‘under’.
West Virginia remains the class of the Big East and the only ranked team in the conference with an overall record of 6-2 SU (4-4 ATS). It is also 2-1 SU in the Big East after a 41-31 victory over Rutgers this past Saturday as a six-point road favorite. The total has gone ‘over’ in seven of its eight games. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Mountaineers have the seventh-ranked passing offense in the country led by Geno Smith’s 2,715 yards on the year. He is completing 63.3 percent of his throws and has 20 touchdowns verse just five interceptions. Stedman Bailey remains his primary target with 815 yards receiving and seven TD’s.
Louisville is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games on the road and the total has stayed ‘under’ in five of its last six games in the conference.
West Virginia is 5-1-1 ATS in its last seven games in the Big East and the total has gone ‘over’ in its last five conference games.
Head-to-head, the road team is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings. The Mountaineers are 8-2 SU in the last 10 meetings, but the series is tied 5-5 ATS. The total has stayed ‘under’ in the last two games. Louisville’s defense is as good as advertised so take the Cardinals to keep things close enough to cover with the 13.5 points.
The Pick: West Virginia 24 vs. Louisville 13
