The Baylor Bears had a rocky game this past week at home against TCU in a 61-58 thriller. Just when they hoped it might get easier, they’re taking to the country roads of West Virginia to take on the 4-2 Mountaineers.
Baylor Bears @ West Virginia Mountaineers
Saturday, October 18th – 12:00 PM ET
Odds: Baylor (-8)
Why The Bears Will Cover
They are feeling vulnerable but extremely confident that they can handle any challenge that comes their way. The Bears know they have problems to address as far as their level of performance is concerned. You can’t give up 58 points in a game and not be concerned with how you’re faring as a team. Yet, Baylor was able to overcome those 58 points by scoring 61.
The Bears were down by three touchdowns early in the fourth quarter and scored 24 points down the stretch to snatch that game away from TCU’s grasp. Baylor was very erratic until then, with Bryce Petty throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown to create that deficit. Baylor’s defense was repeatedly burned by TCU’s passing game. Then, in the final 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, everything changed. Baylor’s defense was able to come up with three consecutive stops of the TCU offense without even allowing as much as a field goal. Petty became lights-out great, and the Bears were able to make TCU’s sagging defense look its worst. Baylor is a powerful and explosive team, but the Bears were not at their best, not even close, against TCU. Yet, the team managed to fight through all its problems and win. That’s very important for a group of young kids and how they carry themselves on the road. This team should be settled and ready to play well. If it plays as well as it, it is far and away better than West Virginia.
Why The Mountaineers Will Cover
They are very capable of winning this game. The Mountaineers know that Baylor is first in the nation in points per game with 52.7 and sixth in passing yards with 371. Yet, West Virginia can score as well. The Mountaineers average 36.7 points per game, which puts them in the top 30 in the nation. West Virginia is just behind Baylor in passing yards per game, rating seventh in the nation with 368.3 yards per game. West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett has had a very good season, and he was good enough to help his team score 33 points against one of the Big 12’s favorites entering this season, the Oklahoma Sooners.
What’s perhaps an even better reason to pick West Virginia in this game is that the Mountaineers, like Baylor, engineered a big comeback this past weekend. They were down 34-20 at Texas Tech with six minutes left and then scored 17 points in those final six minutes to win, 37-34. West Virginia is going to be just as confident as Baylor in this game. If Trickett can hit the deep pass on several occasions, Baylor’s defense might get run out of the stadium.
Outlook
If West Virginia plays the perfect game, it can win, but Baylor played poorly last week and still survived. The Mountaineers are probably not going to be on top of their game, and the Bears should be better than they were a week ago. Take Baylor.
Pick: Baylor (-8)
