West Virginia vs. Baylor Prediction
Will Baylor hang with West Virginia on its home turf tonight when the Big 12 rivals clash at 8:00PM ET?
ODDSMAKERS LIKE: West Virginia. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Bears are now 9-point home underdogs versus the Mountaineers, who opened as 9.5-point road favorites. As for the total, the number hit the board at 69 but has been down to 67 at the majority of online sports books.
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THE PUBLIC LIKES: West Virginia. Baylor isn’t receiving much love from public bettors, who are laying the wood with West Virginia in this matchup. As of this writing, 80% of public bettors are backing the Mountaineers and laying the nine points.
HISTORICAL TRENDS LIKE: Baylor, at least in this series. The Mountaineers are 1-4 against the spread in their last five meetings with the Bears. That said, West Virginia is 4-1 against the number in its last five games overall, is 14-2 at the betting window in its last 16 road games versus an opponent that has a losing home record, and is 4-1 ATS in its last five games played in October. The Bears, meanwhile, are 1-4 against the spread in their last five games played in October but are 31-15 against the spread in their last 46 home games.
WHO WE LIKE: Baylor. The Bears are in a massive transition year (and a weird one at that) but they’re also that team that plays down to its competitive and somehow kicks it into another gear when the big boys come to town. Take Oklahoma, for example. The Sooners were favored by four touchdowns earlier this year in Waco and left with one of their closest victories of the year after the Bears kept coming back. Baylor can run the ball thanks to Terence Williams, who rushed for 95 of the team’s 219 yards last week versus Oklahoma State. The Mountanieers can’t slow anyone on the ground, as they’re allowing 210.7 yards per game (108th in the nation). I don’t think Baylor pulls off the upset but I like the Bears to strike for a couple of big plays and stay within the spread. Hell, if Kansas can rack up 564 yards and 34 points against WVU, why can’t Baylor?
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 8 PREDICTIONS: BAYLOR BEARS +9.5