Why West Virginia WILL win out

I am sure there are many college football fans out there that do not believe West Virginia has a chance in the world to win out in their final two games, including some Mountaineer fans. I am here to tell you why West Virginia WILL shock the nation by beating Texas then upset Oklahoma on the road.

The Mountaineers’ biggest question mark all season long has been on the defense giving up big plays, but over the past two weeks, Tony Gibson’s DAWGS have turned up the notch just a tad and are playing extremely well as a unit. You can discredit that by saying Iowa State and Kansas State are not lethal offenses, but they both have playmakers on that side of the ball. In those two games, the defense has allowed an average of 19.5 points per game and 341.0 yards allowed. Taking these two common denominators (ISU & KSU), the Mountaineers are 2-0 while Oklahoma lost to the Cyclones at home allowing 38 points and came from behind to beat Kansas State in the final minute, allowing 35 points.

Of course, the main objective is to stop Baker Mayfield, which no one has been able to do this season. So, why West Virginia you ask? The Mountaineers have not forgotten about last years beat down from Oklahoma that killed any hope for a playoff spot or Big 12 Championship.it’s now West Virginia’s turn to play spoiler and get their revenge. Looking at the depth chart, it is clear that the Sooners have more talent across the board, but talent does not always win you games.

How does Dana Holgorsen and company pull it off? Simple. Win the turnover battle, convert turnovers into points and DO NOT give Baker Mayfield a short field. If West Virginia turns the ball over 4 times like it did this past Saturday in Manhattan, then there’s virtually no chance. You can get away with it against Kansas State, but you can not give Mayfield extra possessions that he does not even need. If you have any memory of the previous WVU/OU matchups, I’m sure you can recall that the Mountaineers have had tremendous success running the football and better yet, this is potentially the worst defense Oklahoma has had since West Virginia has joined the league. This years game has all the makings of a shootout and Will Grier WILL throw for over 400 yards. Grier and the offense will finally put together a full game and all the defense will need to do is make a couple of stops and force some turnovers and we will be singing Country Roads in Norman.

Texas is up first, however, and I do believe it will be a similar game to what we have seen the past two weeks. The Longhorns have a stingy defense and it will more than likely be another game in the 20’s. The Longhorns’ physicality will be a challenge to overcome, but this team is starting to believe in itself and with that said, I think the DAWGS outperform their counterpart this Saturday on senior day in Morgantown.

After these two victories, West Virginia will just need a loss from either TCU or Oklahoma State and they will be planning a trip to Dallas for the Big 12 Championship.