Oklahoma State Cowboys vs West Virginia Mountaineers: How to watch, start time, betting line and predictions
OKLAHOMA STATE OUTLOOK
Frankly, the Cowboys are lucky to have a single loss, as last week they barely escaped Texas with a win thanks to an errant pass in overtime. Oklahoma State's offense has slowed down since the beginning of the year, and that fact has fans a little worried. But have no fear, they have the talent to get back on track. Any team that includes Mason Rudolph and James Washington is too good to be held in check for too long.
A positive note from the Texas game: it might have been their best defensive performance in a long time. Barring one 90 yard catch by John Burt, the Cowboys would have held a Tom Herman-led offense to under 200 yards. The argument could be made that Burt stepped out of bounds, but replay never caught it, and here we are. In a conference not known for its defense, the Cowboys are showing potential as to why they are a playoff contender. They just need to avoid any hiccups going forward.
If an offense is getting "figured out" and still putting up 428 yards, I would hate to see what happens when a defense doesn't know what their opponents are doing. West Virginia's defense hasn't looked outstanding thus far, but they're very capable of battling with the Cowboys, and the Rudolph-Washington combination needs to get out to a hot start.
WEST VIRGINIA OUTLOOK
Where would this Mountaineer offense be without Will Grier? Sure, David Sills V is a stud, but would we know his name if Grier hadn't come to Morgantown? I'm not so sure. Grier and Sills V have made this offense one of the best that Dana Hologrsen has ever fielded in his time at West Virginia. Grier is on pace for 4,229 yards and nearly 45 touchdowns passing, which would surpass Geno Smith's monstrous 2012 season. Sills V may not have the yardage that can compete with the best, but he's on pace for 26 touchdown catches. That will catch anyone's eye. And if you focus on stopping that combination, running back Justin Crawford is more than capable of gashing a defense on the ground.
The Mountaineers show plenty of promise at the beginning of the season despite a loss to Virginia Tech. They also took TCU to the wire before falling by the same score against the Hokies, 31-24. While the offense continues to excel, scoring 164 points in the last four games, the defense has struggled (allowing 136 in that same span). This isn't an offense that West Virginia wants to get into a shootout with, even though their offense is explosive enough to score at will. It's not the offense we should worry about, it's the defense getting exhausted keeping up in an uptempo game.
PREDICTION
I really think this will be a high-scoring, break the scoreboard type game that could feature 1,200+ total combined yards. I'm not completely sold on Oklahoma State's defense, and I know that the Mountaineers need a lot of help to stop the Cowboys. Just for fun, though, I'm going to pick a familiar score.
My pick: Oklahoma State 31 West Virginia 24
