The No. 12 Bears of Baylor (-18) are set to welcome their Big 12 rival West Virginia Mountaineers to McLane Stadium. The game is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET and ESPN will broadcast the action.
Betting Preview: Baylor Bears vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
In this Thursday Big 12 matchup, Baylor has been tabbed as the big favorite and the team’s currently giving up 18 points. The Mountaineers are also receiving +800 moneyline odds while the Bears are -1450. There could be some good in-game betting opportunities in the matchup, and Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 57 points.
Both of these teams have been profitable this season as the Mountaineers have gained 1.2 units while the Bears are ahead 5.1 units.
The perfect Mountaineers have gone 3-4 straight up (SU), including 1-3 SU against Big 12 opponents. The Bears are 7-0 SU overall and are also 4-0 SU in conference play.
The Mountaineers came up short to Oklahoma 52-14 in a thumping where the defense allowed the Sooners to pass for 363 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 197 yards and three scores. Kennedy Brooks had a productive day for the Sooners in that one with 70 rushing yards and a score on 10 attempts. On the offensive side of the ball, Austin Kendall completed just 15-of-31 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Leddie Brown (just 28 yards on 16 rush attempts) led the ground attack in the loss while T.J. Simmons (six receptions, 74 yards, two TDs) and Sam James (four catches, 29 yards) manned the receiving duties.
Baylor is coming off of a 45-27 win over Oklahoma State back in Week 8. The defense allowed the Cowboys to run for 281 yards on 50 rush attempts, including three rush TDs. Chuba Hubbard was a force to be reckoned with, recording 171 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 32 attempts for Oklahoma State. For Baylor, Charlie Brewer completed 13-of-17 passes for 312 yards and one touchdown. JaMycal Hasty (146 rushing yards on 16 attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Brewer (16 yards on 12 carries, one TD) led the ground game in the win as Hasty (three receptions, 66 yards) and Josh Fleeks (three catches, 126 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack.
West Virginia has run the ball on 45.9 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Baylor has an overall rush percentage of 54.2 percent. The Mountaineers have produced 88.1 rush yards per game (including 95 per game versus Big 12 opponents) and have seven touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Bears are putting up 202.7 rushing yards per game (164.8 in conference) and have 22 total rush TDs.
It seems like the Bears may hold an edge when it comes to effectiveness in the ground game. Their backfield has generated 5.7 yards per carry while the defense has allowed a YPC of 3.6 to opponents. The Mountaineers have registered 2.9 yards per carry while allowing a YPC of 4.2 to opponents.
The Mountaineers offensive scheme has logged 226 yards/game through the air overall (227.3 per game against conference opposition) and has 12 passing TDs so far. The Bears have put up 281.4 pass yards per game (310 against Big 12 foes) and have 13 total pass scores.
Defensively, West Virginia has allowed 178 rush yards and 229.9 pass yards per game. The Baylor defense has allowed 221.1 yards per game to opposing passers and 137.4 yards per game to opposing runners. The Bears are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.58 to opposing QBs, while the Mountaineers have given up a 7.08 ANY/A.
Offensively, Kendall is up to 1,420 passing yards this year. The signal-caller has connected on 140-of-221 attempts with 11 passing scores and seven interceptions. Kendall has a 5.55 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 6.76 over the last two games.
In the other huddle, Charlie Brewer has managed to complete 106-of-159 passes for 1,514 yards, 12 TDs and zero INTs. Brewer’s ANY/A stands at 10.03 for the season and 8.68 over his past two games.
These two teams faced off last year with the final result being a 58-14 win for West Virginia.
West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Baylor Bears Free Prediction
SU Winner: Baylor, ATS Winner: Baylor, O/U: Over
Team Betting Trends
- Baylor has lost four fumbles this season while West Virginia has lost two.
- The Baylor D has sacked opposing QBs 25 times this season. West Virginia has registered just 18 sacks.
- West Virginia has rushed for 2.3 yards per attempt across its past three outings and 1.6 over its last two.
- Baylor has averaged 5.2 yards per carry over its last three games and 5.3 over its past two.
- In its last three matchups, Baylor is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- The Over/Under for West Virginia’s last game going into it was 63. The over cashed in the team’s 52-14 loss to Oklahoma.
- Over its last three matchups, West Virginia is 0-3 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- The O/U for Baylor’s last game was set at 68.5. The over cashed in the 45-27 win over Oklahoma State.
