West Virginia vs Baylor NCAA Football Odds
The West Virginia Mountaineers are coming off of a huge upset victory against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and they have all of the confidence and momentum in the world as a result. Unfortunately for them, the No. 17 Baylor Bears are hoping to rain on their parade.
West Virginia (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) @ No. 17 Baylor (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, Oct. 5 8:00 PM ET @ Floyd Casey Stadium
Moneyline: N/A
Spread: Baylor -28.5
O/U: 70
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Baylor has looked mighty impressive up to this point. Its schedule may not show any dominant opponents thus far, but that’s why the Bears will look to make a statement against their first real competition of the season.
West Virginia
The West Virginia defense has been good up to this point. In fact, its been very good. The team is allowing just 19.6 points per game, which is 35th in the country, and it held an Oklahoma State team to 21 points last week that had been averaging 45.3 points per contest.
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All that said, the Mountaineers’ defense must be remarkable against the Baylor offense. For West Virginia, the plan has to be making the quarterback uncomfortable. That’s exactly what it did to J.W. Walsh last week, and it must do the same to Bryce Petty, who has eight touchdowns and zero interceptions on the year.
The problem for West Virginia’s defense is that Baylor is an extremely balanced attack, as it also has a Heisman hopeful at tailback in Lache Seastrunk. The Bears also have Shock Lunwood, who has four touchdowns on the ground this season, and as a result, Baylor is fifth in the country in rushing to complement being first in passing. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
It doesn’t get much easier when West Virginia is on offense. Baylor has given up just 7.7 points per game so far this season. The caveat when it comes to that number is that the Bears have faced Wofford, Buffalo and LA-Monroe—not exactly top-tier competition. West Virginia needs to put points on the board, but going back to defense, it must contain the No. 1 scoring offense in the country.
Baylor
The Bears are averaging an astounding 69.7 points per contest through three games this season. Their key has been a hot start in each game, and that’s what they’ll look to do against West Virginia.
Up to this point, the Bears haven’t scored fewer than 28 points in the first quarter of any game in 2013. They hit their opponent early, and they keep it going throughout the contest. It’s true that West Virginia has momentum following its upset loss against Oklahoma State, but Baylor is a different kind of beast.
If the Bears can keep up their offensive potency in this matchup, it shouldn’t struggle against the Mountaineers. The point spread may be high considering West Virginia is coming off of a signature win, but Baylor’s high-octane offense will make all the difference.
Baylor is also at home, which is a huge advantage in this one. Don’t be fooled by West Virginia’s win against Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers caught the Cowboys by surprise—that won’t happen against Baylor.
Score Prediction: Baylor 55 – West Virginia 23
