Two offensive juggernauts will be on display in this AutoZone Liberty Bowl as the Texas A&M Aggies clash with the West Virginia Mountaineers. West Virginia (7-5) and Texas A&M (7-5) have both come up short in two of their last five. Players will take the field Monday at 2:00 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPN.
In its last game, West Virginia beat Iowa State 37-24. Howard had a huge game passing the ball in the win, connecting on 21 of 40 pass attempts for 285 yards and three TDs. He also ran for 69 yards on seven attempts. Shell also had a great game with 146 yards and a TD on 22 carries. Texas A&M fell to LSU 23-17 in its last game. Williams had a quality performance running the ball for the Aggies, gaining 62 yards and one TD on four attempts. Niederhofer put up 54 yards on two catches.
West Virginia is a narrow three-point favorite at home against the Aggies. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 64 points for this matchup. Heading into Week 18 of the college football season, the Mountaineers are 7-5 both Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS). In the past five games, West Virginia is 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS. Chances are West Virginia will keep the ball in the air. They have America’s ninth-ranked passing attack, averaging 314.6 yards per game. During their last five games, the Mountaineers have done an improved job of keeping their opponents from throwing the ball, only giving up an average of 241.4 passing yards. The Mountaineers should be able to pounce on Texas A&M’s struggles during the second quarter, when they give up 10 points per game. West Virginia likes to run an up-tempo, fast-paced offense. With an average of 85 plays per game, they rank second in Division I.
On the other side, the Aggies head into Week 18 with records of 4-8 ATS and 7-5 SU. The Aggies went 2-3 SU and 1-4 ATS over the last five games. Texas A&M has found a lot of success through the air. Its 306.4 passing yards per game ranks 12th in Division I. Over the last five games, the Aggies turned it up on the defensive side of the football, only allowing an average of 230.2 passing yards per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – TAM, ATS Winner – TAM, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of West Virginia’s last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas A&M’s last 6 games.
Texas A&M is 6-0 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. West Virginia is 5-1 SU when leading after three quarters.
According to overall FBS team rankings, West Virginia is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 44th-ranked rushing attack will face the 114th-ranked run defense of Texas A&M, while its 68th-ranked run defense will look to contain the 94th-ranked rushing game of the Aggies.
