West Virginia’s offense can hang with any team in the country, but a lack of quality wins over ranked opponents has the 6-1 Mountaineers stuck at No. 13 in the first round of the College Football Playoff rankings. WVU has a solid win over then-No. 25 Texas Tech on its resume and not much else to convince the world it’s worthy of a final four slot.
West Virginia vs. Texas 2018 live stream: Time, TV schedule, prediction, and how to watch online
West Virginia needs more quality wins to boost its playoff resume. Enter Texas.
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
A win in Austin is paramount to coach Dana Holgorsen’s national title hopes. Standing in his way are the No. 17 Longhorns who are looking to prove last week’s loss was a fluke.
Texas came into Week 9 as the nation’s No. 6 team, but its six-game winning streak — which included an upset over Oklahoma — was snapped by an opportunistic Oklahoma State team. A loss Saturday would likely drop Tom Herman’s team out of the Big 12 race and out of the top 25, but a win would solidify the Longhorns’ claim to the conference’s top spot.
West Virginia vs. Texas prediction:
The S&P+ ratings aren’t high on either team. West Virginia clocks in at No. 16, while Texas doesn’t even crack the top 40. Unsurprisingly, the numbers predict a Mountaineer win, but a vintage Longhorn crowd in Austin could be enough to swing this one back in the home team’s favor.
Time, TV channel, and streaming info
West Virginia vs. Texas news:
- After an easy two months, West Virginia’s 2018 will be decided by a tough November schedule.
- If Texas falls behind early on Saturday it won’t be anything new or original for Tom Herman’s team.
Of Texas’ eight losses under Herman, five have come after the Horns fell behind by three scores, with examples of such early struggles stretching from Herman’s debut to Texas’ most recent outing against Oklahoma State.
2017 Maryland: Texas fell behind 27-7
2017 Oklahoma: Texas fell behind 20-0
2017 TCU: Texas fell behind 17-0
2018 Maryland: Texas fell behind 24-7
2018 Oklahoma State: Texas fell behind 24-7
The Longhorns have, however, been able to battle back on four of the noted instances — TCU being the exception — even going on to capture the lead on two occasions.
- Get two turnovers and this game is a lock for the Mountaineers, says The Smoking Musket.
- So what went wrong for Texas in last week’s loss? Pretty much everything.
Can the Longhorns follow Iowa State’s blueprint for success?
The Cyclones are the only team this fall to hold an explosive West Virginia team to fewer than 35 points. Iowa State dominated the clock (37 minutes of possession) with a potent running attack, giving Will Grier a season-low 15 passing attempts in the process. That stifled the visiting Mountaineers, who scored just 14 points in a 16-point defeat.
Texas has the talent to smother the clock with freshman tailback Keaontay Ingram, who leads the team with 455 rushing yards this fall. But Ingram hasn’t proven himself as a workhorse yet, and only has one game with more than 13 carries on his NCAA resume. He’ll have to step into the spotlight Saturday in order to keep the ball out of Grier’s hands with a litany of clock-churning runs.
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