West Virgina vs. Texas Tech Prediction
West Virginia travels to Lubbock, TX to face Texas Tech in a battle of 3-3 Big 12 teams at 3:00 PM ET on Saturday. Can the Mountaineers cover the spread as 6.5-point road underdogs?
West Virginia is 3-3 on the year, and their best wins were over Virginia Tech and Baylor. Their worst losses were to Pittsburgh and Kansas. The Mountaineers are 4-2 ATS on the season.
Texas Tech is 3-3 on the year with their best wins coming against Houston and Texas. Their worst losses were to North Carolina State and Kansas State. The Red Raiders are 3-3 ATS on the year.
Game Matchup and Betting Odds
387 West Virginia Mountaineers +6.5 at 388 Texas Tech Red Raiders -6.5; O/U 64.5
3:00 PM ET Saturday, October 22nd, 2022
Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock, TX
West Virginia vs. Texas Tech Public Betting Information
The public is favoring the Red Raiders in this game. Our CFB Public Betting Page shows that 56% of public bets are on Texas Tech -6.5. Do note that those numbers are subject to change and could be different once game time rolls around.
West Virginia Game Notes
West Virginia earned a much-needed win when they defeated Baylor 43-40 last Thursday night. The star of that game was running back Tony Mathis Jr. who ran for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries. Mathis has emerged as a dynamic ground threat, as he’s seventh in the Big 12 with 459 rushing yards on the campaign. The sophomore from Orlando should have some room to run on Saturday, as Texas Tech is allowing 4.7 yards per rushing attempt, which ranks 107th out of 131 FBS teams.
Mountaineers quarterback JT Daniels played pretty well in the Baylor game too, posting a QBR of 82.2 while throwing for 283 yards and a touchdown on 7.6 yards per attempt. He may have to boost his game on Saturday if West Virginia is going to cover this game as he only has one 300-yard passing game on his ledger so far in 2022 and Texas Tech is averaging 28.6 points per game.
Texas Tech Game Notes
True freshman quarterback Behren Morton got the start for Texas Tech last weekend in place of current starter Donovan Smith. Smith is nursing a sprained AC joint in his shoulder, but he may have slid down the depth chart due to his propensity to turn the ball over (7 interceptions in 4.5 games). Regardless of why he got the start, Morton put on a show for the Red Raiders last weekend. He threw for 379 yards on 62 pass attempts, tossing 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Morton also ran for 46 yards and a touchdown as Texas Tech fell to Oklahoma State 41-31.
Smith is apparently recovering from his shoulder injury, but Morton is projected to get the start against West Virginia on Saturday. He got the majority of the first-team reps in practice this week. The key for Behren Morton and the Red Raiders will be to limit turnovers. Texas Tech is tied for 119th in the country with an average turnover margin of -1.2 per game. They’ll need to limit their mistakes if they’re going to win this game by a touchdown or more.
West Virginia vs. Texas Tech Betting Trends
West Virginia is 5-1-2 ATS in their last 8 games after allowing more than 280 passing yards in their previous game.
Texas Tech is 1-7-1 ATS in their last 9 games following an ATS win.
West Virginia is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following a bye week.
The road team is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings between West Virginia and Texas Tech.
West Virginia vs. Texas Tech Betting Prediction
The Texas Tech quarterback situation is interesting. The Week 1 starter for the Red Raiders was Tyler Shough, but he injured his collarbone and won’t be back until next week at the earliest. Donovan Smith started games two through five, but he threw too many interceptions and suffered an injury himself. That led to true freshman Behren Morton starting last week. Morton is technically the third-string quarterback and he’ll probably start this weekend. I think these teams are relatively even talent and skill-wise, and because of that, I’ll take the fifth-year quarterback (JT Daniels) over the true freshman QB (Behren Morton). I like the Mountaineers and the points.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 8 PREDICTION: WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS +6.5
