(311) West Virginia vs. (312) BYU
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. The last two times these two teams met was back in the beginning of November 2023 when West Virginia shredded BYU at home, 37-7. This season, these are two very different teams. The Cougars enter this matchup on a six-game straight up hot streak, in which they have covered five of those six games. They are a perfect 4-0 straight up this season, going 3-1 against the spread. They are also 2-0 both straight up and against the spread on their own field in 2025. Meanwhile, West Virginia has lost and failed to cover their last two outings, and it’s just 2-3 overall both straight up and against the number. Going back a bit, this team has lost and failed to cover their last three games played as a visitor. This does include both games played this season, an ugly 17-10 loss at the hands of Ohio, and then even uglier 41-10 shellacking at the hands of Kansas. The Mountaineers offense, if you can call it that, is absolutely stagnant. They average a dismal 22.0-points per game, with absolutely no passing game to speak of, and have committed nine turnovers already. Yes, they can run the ball with efficiency. But being that they have no passing attack, they are truly one-dimensional. This does not bode well as they go up against the very stingy defense here of the Cougars. The BYU stop-unit ranks in the top-10 in most categories, including points allowed in which they rank fourth in the nation, yielding just 9.3-PPG. They are equally good against the pass as they are against the rush. They have already snagged five takeaways. On the flipside, BYU does not make many mistakes, committing just one turnover, ranking tenth in rushing, 47th in total yards, and 23rd in scoring. The West Virginia defense has struggled, getting shredded for over 26.6-points per game, and ranking towards the bottom of the barrel against both the pass and the rush. I understand this may be a lot of points, but I doubt very much the Mountaineers can move the chains in this matchup, let alone put too many points on the board. I look for the Cougars to come out and make an example, stay undefeated in conference play, and to stay undefeated overall. Take BYU. Thank you.
PICK: BYU -19