West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Texas Longhorns – College Football, November 7, 2020

Tom Herman’s seat got a little bit cooler after pulling off an upset last weekend in Stillwater. With that being said, a home loss this Saturday and suddenly Coach Herman will be back on thin ice.

One would assume that the Longhorns should be able to hold off the Mountaineers, but this isn’t the time to be overconfident. Counting chickens before they hatch against a Neal Brown-led group would be a big mistake.

Speaking of this all-important Big 12 matchup, let’s work our way toward a West Virginia vs. Texas prediction.

West Virginia and Texas are each 4-2 (3-2 in conference play) heading into Saturday’s clash at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Mountaineers have a matching 4-2 record against the spread while the Longhorns are just 2-3-1 ATS.

WVU leads the all-time series between these two schools 5-4, although Texas won last year’s meeting 42-31 in Morgantown.

Suffocate Opposing Quarterbacks. 7^th in the nation in team sacks (3^rd among teams who have played 6 or fewer games) gives you an idea of how much pressure the Mountaineers front seven can create. To further support that claim, know that West Virginia ranks 4^th in America in yards allowed.

With that being said, WVU clocks in 1^st in yards allowed and 1^st in passing yards allowed among all FBS teams that have played at least three games.

True freshman Akheem Mesidor is making the most of his opportunities (leads the team with four sacks) while Darius Stills anchors a defensive line consisting of four players responsible for at least three sacks.

The secondary is in great hands as well thanks to a recent surge from Dreshun Miller. The junior CB accounted for the second-highest PFF grade among all cornerbacks last weekend.

Putting the ball in the end zone. The highest-scoring team in the Big-12 (44.3 ppg) gets it done in a variety of ways, but it all starts with Sam Ehlinger. The Longhorns QB is already up to a college football-high 27 touchdowns (20 passing, 7 rushing).

Sam Ehlinger is the first player in Texas history with 20 passing touchdowns through his team's first 6 games of a season.

Ehlinger went 7-9 with 2 pass TD in the 4th quarter and overtime. Ehlinger now has an FBS-best 8 pass TD in the 4th quarter and OT this season. pic.twitter.com/B2HjZUxVqG

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 1, 2020

Unfortunately for Tom Herman’s offense, they’ll be without starting running back Keaontay Ingram as he deals with a high-ankle sprain. True frosh Bijan Robinson is set to see an uptick in his workload, as is Roschon Johnson.

Of course, Texas will most likely just lean on Sam to do it all. Ehlinger does a nice job spreading the ball around to a bevy of speedy wideouts, although his 60.3% completion rate leaves NFL scouts wanting more.

Now for a West Virginia vs. Texas prediction that we can take to the sportsbooks. Easily one of the best college football games on Saturday, I expect this one to go down to the wire in Austin. I’m not 100% convinced that WVU can win this game on the road, but getting a full touchdown at BetNow has certainly sparked my interest.

In the Mountaineers, we’re talking about arguably the most feisty defense in America. A unit coming off completely shutting down 16^th -ranked Kansas State on Halloween to the tune of surrendering 41 rushing yards on 23 carries.

And now we’re asking UT to pound the rock without their top running back?

The Longhorns may very well escape with a victory, but it’ll be tough sledding versus a high-quality opponent.

After locking in a West Virginia vs. Texas pick, you’ll probably be looking ahead to games taking place later on in the afternoon.

Which games are worth betting on?

Ask and I shall deliver.