MATT FARGO
West Virginia Mountaineers v/s Oklahoma Sooners 1/2/2008 8:00:00 pm Predicted Winner: West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Oklahoma Sooners 8:00 PM ET
West Virginia Mountaineers +7.5 -110
This one starts and ends with head coach Rich Rodriguez who bolted for Michigan following the regular season. Coached abandoning their program or being let go before bowl games has not panned out for those teams as they are 0-6 so far. While that trend may be tough to go against, the Mountaineers are in a bit of a different situation. The talent on this team makes up for it and while the players were livid when Rodriguez first left, they have made it heir mission to throw it back in his face here.
West Virginia had its ticket punched for the BCS Championship but a loss against Pittsburgh in the ?Backyard Brawl? ended those dreams. How the Mountaineers recover from that loss will obviously be the most important factor here. That could come down to one player actually. As quarterback Patrick White goes, so goes West Virginia. He sat out most of the Pittsburgh game with a dislocated right thumb, which completely affected the offense. He is fine and will be ready to play here.
Oklahoma had a spectacular season and felt like it was snubbed for the BCS Championship so it will be playing with a chip on its shoulder for sure. However, the inexperience at quarterback is a huge issue and one that will give West Virginia a slight edge on defense. The Mountaineers finished 4th in the country in total defense so despite the potent offense of the Sooners, West Virginia is very capable of slowing them down. Rushing defense was 18th and passing defense was 12th so the balance is big as well.
The loss against Pittsburgh was devastating for West Virginia but it falls into a spectacular situation because of it. Play on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points that are coming off a upset loss as a double digit home favorite in the second half of the season. This situation is 29-8 ATS (78.4 percent) since 1992 with the average point differential being just -0.9 ppg. This includes a 14-2 ATS mark (87.5 percent) over the last five seasons. We don?t need the win but we get the cover from this very generous line tonight. Play West Virginia Mountaineers 2.5 Units
*****Paid and Confirmed*****
West Virginia Mountaineers v/s Oklahoma Sooners 1/2/2008 8:00:00 pm Predicted Winner: West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Oklahoma Sooners 8:00 PM ET
West Virginia Mountaineers +7.5 -110
This one starts and ends with head coach Rich Rodriguez who bolted for Michigan following the regular season. Coached abandoning their program or being let go before bowl games has not panned out for those teams as they are 0-6 so far. While that trend may be tough to go against, the Mountaineers are in a bit of a different situation. The talent on this team makes up for it and while the players were livid when Rodriguez first left, they have made it heir mission to throw it back in his face here.
West Virginia had its ticket punched for the BCS Championship but a loss against Pittsburgh in the ?Backyard Brawl? ended those dreams. How the Mountaineers recover from that loss will obviously be the most important factor here. That could come down to one player actually. As quarterback Patrick White goes, so goes West Virginia. He sat out most of the Pittsburgh game with a dislocated right thumb, which completely affected the offense. He is fine and will be ready to play here.
Oklahoma had a spectacular season and felt like it was snubbed for the BCS Championship so it will be playing with a chip on its shoulder for sure. However, the inexperience at quarterback is a huge issue and one that will give West Virginia a slight edge on defense. The Mountaineers finished 4th in the country in total defense so despite the potent offense of the Sooners, West Virginia is very capable of slowing them down. Rushing defense was 18th and passing defense was 12th so the balance is big as well.
The loss against Pittsburgh was devastating for West Virginia but it falls into a spectacular situation because of it. Play on underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points that are coming off a upset loss as a double digit home favorite in the second half of the season. This situation is 29-8 ATS (78.4 percent) since 1992 with the average point differential being just -0.9 ppg. This includes a 14-2 ATS mark (87.5 percent) over the last five seasons. We don?t need the win but we get the cover from this very generous line tonight. Play West Virginia Mountaineers 2.5 Units
*****Paid and Confirmed*****
