25 games that will shape the 2019 College Football Playoff
Week 13: Oklahoma at West Virginia (Friday night)
West Virginia has higher expectations coming into 2018 than in any season the last five years. With quarterback Will Grier and receiver, David Sills, both coming back for their senior seasons in Dana Holgorsen’s offense, the Mountaineers should have one of the best passing attacks in not just the Big 12 but all NCAA teams.
Their defense was suspect at best last season as they gave up an average of 32 points per game (90th in the nation in scoring defense). When Will Grier was out with injuries the offense sputtered and the defense dropped off dramatically as well. With Grier coming back fully healthy and West Virginia adding talented transfers to their defense this season, it could be a different story.
Based on the weapons Oklahoma has coming back, how prolific a dual-threat Kyler Murray could be and the fact that Oklahoma’s defense wasn’t spectacular last season, expect this game to be a shootout. It comes so late in the season that there’s no telling what the stakes will be. West Virginia could be dominant all season and competing for the Big 12 themselves or if they stumble, they could be looking to play spoiler for a Sooner team looking to make a trip back to the playoff.
If one or both teams are in the playoff hunt late in the season, this could be one of the biggest games of the year.