Offshore bookmakers have set the total at 73½ for the Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. the West Virginia Mountaineers game, which goes against recent trends. On their behalf, though, both schools’ offenses are among the top in the country, and the same goes for their respective QBs. OSU leads the nation in total (584.6) and passing yards (392.7) per game, while WVU ranks 5th and 4th in the selfsame categories with 539.4 and 364. Furthermore, Cowboys QB paces the NCAA with 378.6 passing yards per game and is second in total yards (386.7) per game, while WVU’s signal-caller Will Grier ranks 4th in both total and passing yards per contest (366.4 and 378.6) respectively.
- Date: October 28th
- Time: 12:05 PM
- Venue: Mountaineer Field, Morgantown, WV
- Sportsbook Online Odds:
Oklahoma State -7½ (EV) 73½ (-110) -290
West Virginia +7½ (-120) 73½ (-110) +245
Even Cowboys can defend too
It’s easy, with such offensive numbers as those, to disregard Ok State’s defense, but the truth is that it was the defense that won the Cowboys’ war of attrition against Texas on Saturday.
"It's the defense that rules the roost&gives Oklahoma State history!" Don't miss @Gopokesvoice final call in this week's cinematics #okstate pic.twitter.com/xz6Cz0cgf7
— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 22, 2017
OSU allowed just one TD and a field goal to hold off the Longhorns 13-10, though in doing so the Cowboys put up their fewest points in a game in almost three years and failed to cover for the third time in the last four games, and the total went under. OSU had, the week prior, allowed Baylor just 16 points while scoring 59 of their own. For all you aspiring offshore bookmakers out there, the Cowboys are 13-2 SU in their last 15 games on the road, 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games after giving up fewer than 100 running yards in their previous game and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games after an ATS loss, while the ‘Neers are 12-1 SU in their last 13 games at home.
Defense is an uphill battle for Mountaineers
WVU has allowed 71 points and 1,010 in the last two games while at the same time managing to go 2-0 SU and 1-1 ATS in that same stretch. How? Two words: Will freakin’ Grier, who passed for 727 yards with 10 TDs and just one pick in that two-game period. Win, lose, or draw, the total has gone under in just one WVU game this season, but historically speaking, the total has gone under in 21 of West Virginia’s last 30 games against the Big 12, including four of the last five versus the Cowboys, including last season’s meeting when Rudolph went 26 of 36 with three TDs to lead OSU to the SU and ATS win. “We’ve been competing against this guy for four years, it seems like,” WVU head coach Dana Holgorse said of Rudolph. “Mason is really mature. He’s a big, tall, good-looking dude that throws the ball extremely well. He has a great knowledge of their offense. And he has a really good relationship with probably one of the best receiving corps in college football.” all that and “good-looking” too. Pretty sure that helps with the girls, though not necessarily with offshore bookmakers.