Fresh off a morale-boosting upset win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Iowa State Cyclones will look to net their second win in a row against a ranked opponent this coming Saturday at home when they meet the visiting West Virginia Mountaineers. The No. 6 Mountaineers, moving up on NCAAF Futures as one of the favorites to win the 2019 Championship, are not expecting to suffer their first loss of the season at the hands of an unranked foe, but hey, anything can happen in college football.
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Betting Preview for the West Virginia Mountaineers vs Iowa State Cyclones Week 7 College Football Game on October 13 2018
Where: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa
When: Saturday, October 13, 2018, 12:00 PM ET
Line: West Virginia Mountaineers (-6.5) vs Iowa State Cyclones (+6.5) – view all 2018 NCAAF lines
TV Broadcast: ABC
Betting on the West Virginia Mountaineers
(5-0 Overall / 3-0 Conference)
Despite an unstable performance from quarterback Will Grier, the Mountaineers were able to stave off the Kansas Jayhawks in a 38-22 victory last Saturday. Grier completed 28 of 41 passes for 332 passing yards with four touchdowns, but had three interceptions. Grier’s struggles were partly obscured by West Virginia’s defense that did not allow Kansas to total more than 300 yards. The Mountaineers held Kansas down to only 80 rushing yards on 26 attempts. They made life hard for Kansas’ backfield and should be able to duplicate that defensive performance against Iowa State’s offense that is only 120th in the nation in rushing yards per game. West Virginia opponents are scoring only 19.0 points per game –15th fewest in the nation. It’s the things that West Virginia can control that it should worry about. For one, the Mountaineers have to give Grier a tighter pass protection to buy him more time in the pocket. In the Kansas game, Grier was sacked five times for a loss of 10 yards.
The Mountaineers have covered the spread in each of their last two games in which they were a road underdog.
Betting on the Iowa State Cyclones
(2-3 Overall / 1-2 Conference)
The Cyclones came out of nowhere last week to score a huge 48-42 win over the No. 25 Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater. Third-string quarterback Brock Purdy stepped in for Zeb Noland and lit up the stat sheets with 318 passing yards and four touchdowns against just an interception on 18-of-23 completions. Such performance could warrant another start for Purdy, who was behind Noland on the depth chart with original starter Kyle Kempt still out due to an injury. However, West Virginia’s defense presents a tough challenge for a freshman like Purdy. Iowa State’s backfield was also missing top rusher David Montgomery in the Cowboys game, but the backups stepped up also. Purdy led the team with 84 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Kene Nwangwu had 49 rushing yards on 10 carries. Iowa State also recorded seven sacks. That’s a clear message for the Mountaineers’ questionable offensive line that has allowed 11 sacks so far this year.
Writer’s Prediction
West Virginia wins, 35-24.
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