WVU-OU will be a hell of a game.
It’s oretty shocking Ou only has one loss. I would argue they are maybe two plays and an injury away from being 8-3 right now.
Anywho, think WVU wins something like 56-44. OU has caught quite a few breaks but I’m gonna day that it ends on Friday. The defense is historically bad and they’re facing one of the more complete teams in the Big 12.
The big question mark is if WVU can get the stops. They’ve got a smart guy at DC and they won the first half against us last week but we made an adjustment that left WVU reeling, seeking answers and gasping for air in a 17 point come back. If WVU allows Ou to rush for 5+ YPC they’re going to struggle to win the game and it may affect their offensive consistency.
Here’s the deal. OSU’s defense, which had been total shit for most of the season, has actually been covering pretty well lately. All three of our sacks on a relatively impossible to sack Kyler Murray came on coverage sacks. We forced numerous stops against WVU in the latter portion of the first half and held WVU to 10 points in the second half.
OU can’t cover. They can’t tackle, fit the run, they can’t really rush the passer, and they can’t cover at all. I don’t think Ou is going to stop them as much as we were able to. That’s troubling for an OU team that has barely gotten by in 2 of their last 3, and for an OU team that pretty much got dominated by the first team that matched their athleticism in Texas.
For me it comes down to this. If OU can rush for 200+ on 4.5-5+ YPC WVU probably won’t have a shot and we get games similar to 2015, 2016, and 2017. But if they can attack their running game and force punts like UT did, maybe get a turnover or two, they’ll have a real shot. WVU’s defense completely ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, prompting Dana Holgorsen to go for several fourth down conversions down the stretch. If I were a WVU fan or coach my biggest concern would be the defense wearing down against the best offensive line they’ll face all year.
I expect no more than a 14 point win either direction. Should be a fun game.