West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Oklahoma Sooners
While the early games this season in college football thus far have been less than stellar, Saturday afternoon that all changes. To get the day started here in Week Five, we’re treated to an amazing Big 12 match up between the Oklahoma Sooners and the West Virginia Mountaineers.
No. 15 Oklahoma is coming into this one with a record of 3-0 on the year and are coming off a throttling of Tulsa, 52-38. So far, this Oklahoma team looks like one that’s ready to take back the Big 12 Conference for themselves.
West Virginia also comes in unbeaten on the year and are ranked No. 23 in the country. They’re heading into this one with a lot of momentum, as they absolutely embarrassed Maryland last weekend, 45-6. Now, they’ll look to take down the mighty Sooners in their own home.
Details for Saturday’s game are below.
Date: Oct. 3
Start Time: Noon ET
Location: Norman, OK
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
TV Info: FOX Sports 1
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go
Ticket Information: For Oklahoma ticket info, click here. For West Virginia ticket info, click here.
Keys to Victory
Oklahoma
Again, so far, the Sooners have looked like the team that’s ready to reclaim the conference they once dominated. Over the course of the past few seasons, teams with fast-paced, speedy attacks, such as West Virginia, have staked their claim to being superior. On Saturday with a win over the Mountaineers, Oklahoma would go one more step further this year in showing that they’re ready to be back on top.
Of course, a lot of their success, especially on offense, can be attributed to the play of transfer quarterback Baker Mayfield. In the Sooners’ three wins on the year, Mayfield has thrown for over 1,000 yards with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Saturday, though, this Oklahoma team on the offensive side of the ball needs to be in control here. The key is keeping the ball out of West Virginia’s hands as much as possible. The less chances West Virginia has to put points on the board, the better.
West Virginia
However, when the Mountaineers do have the ball in their possession, they need to get it in the end zone. This is an Oklahoma defense that is giving up over 21 points per game, so you know that Dana Holgorsen of all people will find a way to exploit that. West Virginia needs to turn this into their type of game — which is a shootout. A few forced turnovers from the defense could go a long way in helping as well.
Odds
Point Spread: Oklahoma -7
Money Line: West Virginia +220, Oklahoma -260
O/U: 59.5
Prediction
This one will more than likely turn into that aforementioned shootout. This just has the feel of the last team with the ball being the one that comes out on top.
But, while we focus on the offense when it comes to West Virginia most of the time, we can’t ignore the fact that this is an improved defense we’re seeing here as well. They’re only allowing 7.7 points per game, and while Oklahoma will surely score more than that, they won’t score enough to take down the Mountaineers.
We have an upset in Norman on Saturday to start the day.
Final Score: West Virginia 48, Oklahoma 35
More from College Football
- Jim Harbaugh facing 4-game suspension over NCAA violations
- College football neutral site games in 2023: Full list
- College GameDay announces surprise Week 1 destination
- College football analyst warns Oklahoma that Texas is doing better prep for SEC
- College Football Playoff national championship game locations for 2024, 2025 and beyond