West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Iowa State Cyclones
When: 11/26/2016 3:30 PM

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS1.
LINE: West Virginia -7
PREDICTION: West Virginia 38, Iowa State 31

Oddsmakers currently have the Mountaineers listed as 7.5-point favorites versus the Cyclones, while the game’s total is sitting at 57.

Coming off a lopsided and error-plagued 56-28 home loss to Oklahoma that ended its hopes of winning a Big 12 championship, 19th-ranked West Virginia will now try to rebound at suddenly red-hot Iowa State on Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.

Two weeks ago the Cyclones (3-8, 2-6 Big 12) looked like the perfect opponent to play after a crushing loss. No more. Matt Campbell’s squad has won back-to-back Big 12 games for the first time since the 2013 season and come in off a record-setting 66-10 shellacking of Texas Tech.

Saturday’s contest also is Senior Day for Iowa State. Little wonder that West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has told the Mountaineers (8-2, 5-2) to be ready for their “toughest week of the year.”

“We put a lot into (the Oklahoma) game, and it didn’t go the way we wanted it to,” Holgorsen said Tuesday. “We’re disappointed with it, but we’ve got a tough one on the road against Iowa State, and you saw what they did to Texas Tech. It’s going to be the toughest week of the year, but I’m anxious to see how the guys respond.

“One thing I know about this group is they’re going to continue to fight and continue to work. There’s no doubt in my mind they’re going to prepare and practice and put as much into it as they possibly can. I know they’re going to do that. With that said, it’s going to be a tough week.”

Despite the disappointing loss to the Sooners, the Mountaineers, who finish Big 12 play on Dec. 3 with a home game against slumping Baylor, still have plenty to play for.

The Mountaineers can still set a high for wins since joining the league in 2012. They can also win 10 games for the ninth time in school history. And if it can end Big 12 play with two wins and then pick up a victory in a bowl game, West Virginia can match its school record with a sixth 11-win season.

“We spent the majority of this year with this 2016 team with zero expectations,” Holgorsen said. “We’ve practiced and played pretty good throughout the course of this season. The pressure’s off. We didn’t get it done when it came to the Big 12, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not a lot to play for. I think this group rebounds and gets out there and gets ready to play another game. We’ve still got a lot to play for obviously. We’ll try to get win No. 9 this week.

“A lot of teams wish they were in that position.”

Iowa State comes in off one of its finest offensive performances in school history. The Cyclones set all-time school records for points against a conference opponent (66), margin of victory against a league opponent (56) and points in a quarter (31) and fell just three points short of most points in a half (48) with 45 in the first 30 minutes. Iowa State finished with 608 yards of total offense, its first 600-yard game since 2008.

“To be honest with you I thought we had a great week of practice, and we deserved the right to feel confident going into the football game to play well,” said Campbell, the 2015 Mid-American Conference coach of the year at Toledo, who is finishing up his first year in Ames. “I thought that was closest to the best 60 minutes we played completely this year. I’m really proud of our senior class. Those guys stayed the course and really allowed us to continue to get better as the season went on.”

It was the best game by far for the two Iowa State quarterbacks, each of whom did what he does best. Jacob Park threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while Joel Lanning ran for 171 yards and five scores.

“(Texas Tech) played an entirely different defense than we expected or had seen on film,” Campbell said. “I think our ability to adapt within the game, our ability to execute, and the ability to have options is certainly great. I thought both Jacob and Joel played about as fluid and well executed game between the two as I have seen.”

The Cyclones have one more chance to build optimism for the final recruiting blitz and the upcoming 2017 season against a West Virginia team that enters with a Top 25 ranking but enough flaws to make an upset possible. Campbell isn’t under any illusions that the win last week is enough to finish with.

“Obviously, we’ve got one last big challenge left before this season ends,” Campbell said.

The post West Virginia vs. Iowa State Odds & Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

West Virginia vs Maryland
When: 8:40 PM ET, Sunday, March 22, 2015
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: 8:40 p.m., TNT
PREDICTION: Maryland 64, West Virginia 63
Join BetOnline and get up to $1,000 BONUS

Oddsmakers currently have the Mountaineers listed as 1-point favorites versus the Terrapins, while the game’s total is sitting at 137½.

Maryland was a 65-62 winner in its last match at home against Valparaiso. They failed to cover the -5-point spread as favorites.

Dez Wells and Jared Nickens matched Trimble with 14 points apiece in Friday’s win by the Terps, who prevailed when former walk-on Varun Ram stripped the ball in the final seconds. “I guess that’s just the nature of our team,” Wells told reporters after scoring in double figures for the 14th straight contest. “When it gets down to the gritty part of the game, we find ways to win. That’s how we are. That’s how we’ve been throughout this year.” Maryland swingman Jake Layman averages 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds but attempted only one field goal in 25 minutes against the Crusaders while finishing with four points and five boards.

Team record: 28-6 SU,13-16-2 ATS
Maryland is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Maryland is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games

West Virginia was a 68-62 winner in their most recent outing at home against Buffalo. They covered the -4.5-point spread as favorites.

The Mountaineers’ 1-2 punch consists of Staten and forward Devin Williams (11.5 points, 8.2 rebounds), who has averaged 19 points on 16-of-21 shooting over the last three games. “I think the bigger the situation, the tighter the game, the better Devin plays,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, whose team forced 17 turnovers against Buffalo and leads the nation at 19.5 turnovers forced per game. Tarik Phillip contributed nine points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, off the West Virginia bench and has averaged eight points over the last four games – double his current season average of four.

Team record: 24-9 SU,19-13 ATS
West Virginia is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
West Virginia is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of West Virginia’s last 5 games

The post West Virginia vs. Maryland Preview appeared first on IdealCapper.

Texas A&M at West Virginia
When: 2:00 PM ET, Monday, December 29, 2014
Where: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN.
LINE: West Virginia -3.5
PREDICTION: Texas A&M 35, West Virginia 30
Join BetOnline and get up to $1,000 BONUS

Oddsmakers currently have the Mountaineers listed as 3½-point favorites versus the Aggies, while the game’s total is sitting at 64½.

The Aggies are not quite as explosive with Allen under center, and the Arizona native had a tough time in the 23-17 loss to LSU that closed the regular season while throwing for 144 yards and a late interception as the team was driving. The freshman could not get the upperclassmen a win in that Senior Day contest but could still help send them out as the first class in Texas A&M history to post four straight bowl wins. “It can be a legacy,” Sumlin told reporters. “There’s a lot for us to play for.”

Texas A&M was a 23-17 loser in its last match at home against LSU. They failed to cover the 3-point spread as underdogs, while the total score of 40 sent UNDER bettors to the payout window.

Team record: 7-5 SU,4-8 ATS
Texas A&M is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games
Texas A&M is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas A&M’s last 6 games

The Mountaineers have a chance to build some momentum going into the offseason after snapping a three-game slide in the regular season finale with a 37-24 win at Iowa State. West Virginia got a glimpse of the future in that win when sophomore Skyler Howard took over for senior Clint Trickett (concussion) at quarterback and went 21-of-40 for 285 yards and three touchdowns while adding 69 yards on the ground. All-Big 12 wide receiver Kevin White, who set a record with seven straight 100-yard receiving games to start the season, cooled off with an average of 59.6 yards in the final five contests.

West Virginia was a 37-24 winner in its last match on the road against Iowa State. They covered the 10-point spread as favorites, while the total score of 61 sent UNDER bettors to the payout window.

Team record: 7-5 SU,7-5 ATS
West Virginia is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of West Virginia’s last 5 games

The post West Virginia vs. Texas A&M Preview appeared first on IdealCapper.