West Virginia vs. Houston Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 7
By Josh Yourish
For a while it looked like Dana Holgorsen had won the divorce with West Virginia, but all of the sudden, the Houston Cougars are just 2-3 in their first season moving up to the Big 12 and Neal Brown has the West Virginia Mountaineers are 4-1 with their only loss to now No. 6 Penn State.
In Week 7, the Mountaineers are slight road favorites down in Houston on Thursday Night as Holgorsen faces his former team in his fifth year at Houston. Both teams were on a bye in Week 6. For a look around the country check out BetSided college football betting expert Reed Wallach’s weekly column and preview.
To bet on any college football game in Week 7, use this great promo from the DraftKings Sportsbook. Simply sign up below, deposit $5 and place a bet on this matchup. Then you’ll receive $200 bonus bets and more!
Now, let’s dig into the odds for the first Big 12 meeting between West Virginia and Houston.
West Virginia vs. Houston Odds, Spread and Total
Houston and West Virginia Betting Trends
- Houston is 2-3 ATS
- The OVER is 3-2 in Houston games
- WVU is 4-1 ATS
- The UNDER is 3-2 in WVU games
West Virginia vs. Houston How to Watch
- Date: Thursday, October 12
- Time: 7:00 PM EST
- Venue: TDECU Stadium
- How to Watch (TV): FS1
- West Virginia Record: 4-1
- Houston Record: 2-3
West Virginia vs. Houston Key Players to Watch
West Virginia
Garrett Greene, QB: This isn’t really to highlight Greene as a thrower, but to point out what he’s done on the ground. In WVU’s Week 5 win over TCU he only threw for 142 yards on 10 completions, but he led the team with 80 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He is only completing 52.9% of his passes for just 544 yards, but he has run for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Greene has also not thrown an interception.
Houston
Samuel Brown, WR: This year, Brown has ascended to the role of No. 1 receiver in Dana Holgorsen’s offense and the 6-foot-2 sophomore is excelling. He leads the team with 34 grabs for 518 yards, an average of 15.2 yards per reception. He only has one touchdown, but is the clear big-play threat for the Cougars.
West Virginia vs. Houston Prediction and Pick
The West Virginia Mountaineers have a much different identity than they did with Coach Dana. Now, they’re all about running the ball and playing defense. With Garrett Greene as their quarterback, they run it a lot, the ninth most attempts in the country, but they’re 70th in yards per attempt and 32nd in rushing yards. It’s the opposite when they pass the ball, they are 127th in attempts, but 58th in yards per completion, so Greene pushes it downfield.
Defensively, Houston isn’t suited to necessarily stop that attack. The Cougars are 98th in yards per play, allowing 6.0 and 98th against the run. Their goal will be to outscore WVU. Houston is 54th in total offense and 74th in yards per play, gaining 5.6. They are 12th in pass attempts with Donovan Smith at quarterback and 26th in passing offense.
The WVU defense is a good one, it ranks 28th in yards per play and 35th against the run, but is 63rd in pass defense. The big issue is that the Mountaineers are 113th in yards per completion, so they give up big plays often. With Houston throwing the ball as much as it does, the Cougars will create explosive plays and outscore the Mountaineers.
The Cougars will win this one outright.
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change