There was a time when I thought wearing a coonskin cap was really cool. I was probably 9 or 10, and there was something about that spiral-colored tail hanging off the back that I thought made a statement. Now I realize it’s a statement that you only want to make on very specific occasions. Like a taxidermy convention or a West Virginia football game.
The Mountaineers are back home where such caps are a common sight, but they’re limping back to Morgantown after college football bettors watched them fall to Oklahoma State 27-13 in their conference opener. Their opponent this Saturday is the Baylor Bears, who are 1-0 after pummeling Kansas 47-14 in Dave Aranda’s debut as head coach.
Let’s put on our thinking caps and give you our best NCAA football picks and predictions for Baylor vs. West Virginia on October 3, with kickoff set for 12:00 ET in Morgantown.
Baylor Bears vs West Virginia Mountaineers betting preview
Weather
The forecast at Milan Puskar Stadium is going to be a mixture of sunshine and cloud cover, with a high of 61 degrees and very slight northwest wind at 4 mph. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key Injuries
Baylor: Xavier Newman-Johnson OL (prob), Blake Bedier OL (ques)
West Virginia: Vandarius Cowan LB (ques), Kerry Martin Jr. S (out), Scottie Young S (out)
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting Trend to Know
Bears are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 conference games. Find more NCAA football betting trends for Baylor vs. West Virginia.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
The Mountaineers were set up perfectly for an upset win against Oklahoma State last Saturday, with two weeks to prepare and freshman backup quarterback Shane Illingworth under center for the Cowboys. It didn’t matter. West Virginia allowed both Chuba Hubbard and L.D. Brown to rush for more than 100 yards, though the Mountaineers actually outgained the Cowboys 353-342.
Baylor welcomed Kansas into Waco for its season opener, which quickly turned into the weekly bloodbath that the Jayhawks generally endure every weekend. Bears senior running back Trestan Ebner put on an absolute show, scoring one receiving touchdown, one rushing touchdown and returning two kicks for scores.
I loved West Virginia to cover the 8.5 point spread as underdogs last week, and they responded by averaging 1.6 yards per carry. I don’t have much faith that they’ll figure things out against Aranda, who lacks the talent he had at LSU, but not the defensive pedigree. This line seems far too small, and I’m all over the Bears.
PREDICTION: Baylor -2.5 (-120)
Over/Under pick
West Virginia had a hard time generating points last Saturday, and while I’m betting on a Baylor win, the total seems to be a tad high. The Bears won’t likely get two special teams touchdowns this time around, and the Under is 6-0 in the Mountaineers’ last six games as an underdog.
PREDICTION: Under 53.5 (-110)
Prop Pick
I haven’t even mentioned Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer, who takes plenty of punishment but remains one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the country. I think he’s poised to have a big game, and that should push the Bears over their team total. If not, you just tip your coonskin cap to the Mountaineers defense.
PREDICTION: Baylor total points Over 27.5 (-127)
Baylor vs West Virginia betting card
- Baylor -2.5 (-120)
- Under 53.5 (-110)
- Baylor total points Over 27.5 (-127)
Did you know that if you parlayed today’s NCAA Baylor vs. West Virginia picks, you could win $52.56 on a $10 bet?
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