EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Thursday, October 25^th, the (4-3) Baylor Bears will be on the road to take on the (5-1) West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of West Virginia 38.0 – Baylor 25.8 with an over/under of 63.7.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of West Virginia 38 – Baylor 20.

Mark is predicting a final score of West Virginia 47 – Baylor 31.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: West Virginia 320.5 YPG > Baylor 313.3 YPG

Rushing offense: Baylor 161.7 YPG > West Virginia 143.8 YPG

Scoring offense: West Virginia 36.8 PPG > Baylor 33.1 PPG

Scoring defense: West Virginia 20.5 PPG > Baylor 31.0 PPG

Passing defense: Baylor 218.0 YPG > West Virginia 218.5 YPG

Rushing defense: West Virginia 141.3 YPG > Baylor 189.9 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Baylor -0.3 > West Virginia -0.4

Summary:

Baylor is (4-3) to start the season with wins over Abilene-Christian, UTSA, Kansas, and Kansas State.  They were defeated by Duke, #6 Oklahoma, and #9 Texas.  Baylor was very competitive in their 23-17 loss last week to #9 Texas but their late comeback fell short despite shutting out the Longhorns in the second half.  The Bears rank 41^st in points per game (33.1) and 94^th in scoring defense (31.0 PPG).  Quarterback Charlie Brewer has completed 62% of his passes for 1,798 yards with 10 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.  JaMycal Hasty leads the team in rushing with 301 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Baylor has two excellent receivers in Jalen Hurd (622 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Denzel Mims (529 yards, 4 touchdowns).  The Bears’ defense ranks 53^rd against the pass (218.0 YPG) and 30^th against the run (189.9 YPG).

West Virginia is (5-1) to start the season with victories over Tennessee, Youngstown State, Kansas State, #25 Texas Tech, and Kansas.  They suffered an embarrassing 30-14 loss to Iowa State in week six where they were outgained 498-152 in total yardage.  The Mountaineers rank 26^th in points per game (36.8) and 28^th in scoring defense (20.5 PPG).  Quarterback Will Grier will certainly be a high pick in next April’s NFL Draft.  Grier has completed 71% of his passes for 1,919 yards with 22 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.  Kennedy McKoy leads the team in rushing with 343 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Mountaineers have a trio of game breaking receivers in Marcus Simms (498 yards, 2 touchdowns), Gary Jennings Jr. (402 yards, 6 touchdowns), and David Sills (390 yards, 7 touchdowns).  The Mountaineers’ defense ranks 54^th against the pass (218.5 YPG) and 46^th against the run (141.3 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Baylor has been very inconsistent this season but last week against Texas proved they can play with upper level competition.  West Virginia is coming off their bye week and have had two weeks to prepare for Baylor.  Baylor’s defense has struggled all year and will have a tough time slowing down Will Grier and his plethora of offensive weapons.  The Bears will keep it close but West Virginia will pull away late.

West Virginia wins 38-27

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