West Virginia BYU Odds

A non-conference matchup comes up in the week 4 schedule. The West Virginia Mountaineers try to remain unbeaten as they travel to face the BYU Cougars in a neutral site clash Saturday afternoon. Kickoff from FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland is set for 3:30 pm ET. The game is televised nationally on ESPN2. The current line shows West Virginia as a 7 point favorite in the contest with the over/under set at 51 points.

West Virginia is coming off a bye last week. In their last game, Skyler Howard tied a career high with five touchdown passes in a 38-21 win over Youngstown State. BYU was in a third straight nail biter last week and came up a 17-14 loser to fall to 1-2. This marks the first meeting in history between the two programs.

Early Lean on BYU +7

West Virginia has had no problems offensively. Part of that is due to their schemes, which head coach Dana Holgorsen openly admitted were lifted from BYU in the past. The Mountaineers are putting up 559 yards (7th in the FBS) and 32 points per game. Howard is 43 of 68 passing for 642 yards with five touchdown passes. The Mountaineers have to throw against a BYU defense that allows 238 yards per game through the air. BYU does have five sacks and six interceptions on defense this season. The passing game is important to open up some running lanes for Rushel Shell and Justin Crawford. BYU allows 111.3 yards per game and just three yards per carry on the ground. If West Virginia can’t keep BYU honest with the run, it puts a lot of pressure on Howard to step up.

BYU’s defense has carried the day for the first three games of the year. It’s time for the offense, with Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams back in the mix, to carry the load. The Cougars are just 105th in the FBS in total offense and average 17 points per game. There has been plenty of chatter about whether Hill should take a seat. Tanner Mangum, who ran the show last year after Hill was lost for the year, would then step in. The Cougars can ill afford another dud offensive performance and a 1-3 record. West Virginia’s defense is giving up 251 yards per game through the air but opposing teams complete only 45.9 percent of their throws. BYU won’t beat teams averaging their current 338.7 yards per game and 4.7 yards per play on offense. A shakeup may be exactly what the Cougars need to get on track.

This is a battle of two sides. West Virginia clearly has the edge when it comes to the offensive side of the ball. BYU is clearly the better defense: the Cougars are allowing 17.7 points a game. That’s the first time they kept their first three opponents under a 20 point per game average since 1984. BYU won the national title that year. The Cougars have to do something to move the chains because if they continue to plod along, fans will quickly turn on the team. The defense does enough to keep BYU in the game. They may not win straight up but it’s a fourth straight close game for the Cougars as they cover. Click here for all your free picks!

BYU is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 vs. Big 12 and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games in September. West Virginia is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games on grass.

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