Oklahoma’s hopes of making a return trip to the College Football Playoff aren’t completely done just yet. The Sooners (8-2, 4-6 against the spread) are 7-0 in their last seven games (4-3 ATS) and are in the driver’s seat to win the Big 12 title.
The Sooners missed running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine in their 34-24 win over Iowa State, but the two made up for lost time by combining for 224 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Oklahoma’s 45-24 beatdown of Baylor.
Baker Mayfield – No. 1 in the nation in quarterback rating – also had another solid outing as he connected with Dede Westbrook for two more touchdowns. Westbrook has now caught at least one touchdown pass in all seven conference games thus far.
This Oklahoma offense has been nothing short of outstanding. It’s up to 9th in scoring offense, averaging 44.2 points per game. It will face its toughest test since Ohio State in West Virginia’s defense, but the Sooners have the talent to come out on top.
The Sooners’ recent struggles against the spread shouldn’t come into play in this game. Their spotty defense couldn’t allow them to pull away from teams like TCU, Texas Tech, and Texas and cover big spreads. However, a single score will be enough for them to cover as road favorites.
Oklahoma has gone 4-0 in its last four meetings with West Virginia, and has won the last two by 12 and 20 points.
West Virginia was far from perfect against Texas, but it was still able to come away with a 24-20 road win on Saturday. With the Mountaineers offense struggling, the defense stepped up by giving up just 20 points despite Texas outgaining WVU by 150 yards.
Road sloppiness has been a regular occurrence for Skyler Howard and the Neers. They coughed up three costly turnovers in their lone loss of the season, a 37-20 defeat at Oklahoma State. They gave the ball away four more times at Texas, with Howard throwing a season-high three interceptions.
However, they’ve had much fewer issues at home, where they have won nine games in a row and have gone 12-1 in their last 13. They’ve gone just 1-4 ATS in their last five, although two of those games were as favorites of at least 21 points.
The Neers will be tough to beat in Morgantown because of that excellent defense, which is easily the best in the Big 12. West Virginia is No. 1 in the conference in scoring defense (20.4 points allowed), No. 2 in passer rating allowed, and tied for No. 2 in interceptions (10).
Howard has also played much better in Morgantown. His passer rating is nearly 33 points higher and has a 14-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio at home. He’s now set to go up against a very shaky Oklahoma pass defense which has already given up 26 passing touchdowns, tied for fifth-most in the country.
Writer’s Prediction
Oklahoma (-3) remains undefeated in the Big 12 as the Sooners outlast West Virginia en route to a 37-31 road win.
