Oklahoma vs West Virginia Preview Odds, Best Bets, and Prediction

Oklahoma vs West Virginia Preview
Kickoff: Saturday, September 25th, 7:30 PM ET. Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Moneyline: Oklahoma (-840), West Virginia (+590)
Spread: Oklahoma (-17), West Virginia (+17)

The no. 4 Oklahoma Sooners have managed to escape their non-conference season undefeated despite a couple of games that were a little too close for comfort. Lincoln Riley’s team now faces its first Big 12 test of the season when they host the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers are 2-1 on the season but knocked off a ranked team last week and have their sights set on another upset despite having never beaten Oklahoma since joining the Big 12. At home, the Sooners are currently favored by 17 points with the over/under for the game set at 56.5 points.

Oklahoma Sooners Preview

As mentioned, the Sooners swept their three non-conference games this year, although two of them were decided by a touchdown or less. To open the season, Oklahoma scored just three points after halftime and withstood a comeback effort from Tulane. Last week, the Sooners never quite pulled away from Nebraska, winning 23-16 despite being favored by 22.5 points at kickoff.

There were big things expected from Spencer Rattler and the OU offense this season with the quarterback being one of the Heisman favorites heading into the season. However, we’ve yet to see the Sooners explode the way many projected. In fairness, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the Oklahoma offense. The backfield tandem of Kennedy Brooks and Eric Gray has been productive while Rattler has completed nearly 75% of his passes. However, the Sooners aren’t creating a lot of explosive plays in the passing game and have gone cold for long stretches. Against Tulane, the offense put together some impressive drives early but couldn’t sustain it for four quarters. Meanwhile, the OU offense never found its rhythm last week against Nebraska.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Sooners have done just enough to start the year 3-0. They did a great job of forcing three turnovers against Tulane but also gave up three touchdowns in the second half to let the Green Wave back into the game. Things were a little better last week when they only gave up one long touchdown drive against Nebraska. But the Oklahoma defense did give up plenty of big plays in the passing game against the Cornhuskers, which is a cause for concern.

West Virginia Mountaineers Preview

The Mountaineers have surely walked a thin line during the early part of the season. They were a little unfortunate not to win their opener against Maryland with four turnovers ultimately sinking them. On the other hand, they were out-gained in that game by 171 yards. Last week, West Virginia was lucky that a careless turnover in the final minutes didn’t come back to haunt them in a 27-21 win over Virginia Tech. But after splitting a pair of close games against power-conference opponents, the Mountaineers will feel as if they’re ready for the start of Big 12 play.

Perhaps the biggest question in Morgantown is if they’ll get enough out of quarterback Jarret Doege to win games in the Big 12. The Mountaineers have run the ball effectively with Leddie Brown and backup quarterback Garrett Greene cycling in at times. But Doege still leaves something to be desired as a passer. If you take away the blowout win over Long Island University, he has three touchdown passes and three interceptions. Doege isn’t necessarily the type of quarterback who’s going to push the ball down the field, and if he’s not going to play mistake-free football, he could end up doing more harm than good if the Mountaineers can’t lean on their running game.

Defensively, there are also mixed reviews from the West Virginia defense through three games. In one sense, they played well against Virginia Tech last week and should almost be admired for only giving up 30 points against Maryland after the offense turned it over four times. On the other hand, the Mountaineers gave up over 300 passing yards against Maryland, including two touchdown passes of 60 yards or more. Needless to say, that’s a bad sign for a team that will have to face plenty of pass-heavy offenses in the Big 12 this season.

Full Oklahoma vs West Virginia Prediction

The course of this game will likely be decided by Rattler and the Oklahoma offense. The West Virginia defense looks vulnerable in the secondary, opening the door for the Sooners to push the ball down the field and turn this game into a classic Big 12 shootout. If that happens, there’s little chance that Doege and company can keep up. But in a low-scoring game, the Mountaineers have the type of running game that can control the clock and keep the Oklahoma offense off the field, forcing the Sooners into another tight game.

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