West Virginia hosts Texas Tech as the Mountaineers look to break a four-game losing streak against the Red Raiders.
West Virginia is coming off an emotional win in the Backyard Brawl against Pitt, while Texas Tech picked up their first win of the year against Tarleton State after they dropped their first two games to Wyoming and Oregon.
Ashley O’Brien: West Virginia is coming off of a true high after the win in last week’s Backyard Brawl. That high is only slightly overshadowed by Greene’s injury and Nicco Marchiol will likely start as QB1 Saturday afternoon. Texas Tech has run the show against West Virginia over the last several years, so expect this to be a tough matchup. It’s closer than most like, but West Virginia is able to win three in a row for the first time in Neal Brown’s career.
West Virginia 27, Texas Tech 24
Wesley Shoemaker: West Virginia faced a must-win a week ago when they faced Pitt. They got that done in a very ugly way, but now they face a Texas Tech team where they are going to have to score more than 17 points to win the game. The Mountaineers will win or lose with their defense this week. WVU’s defensive line has played really well to start the season but will face a tough task against the Red Raiders because of the tempo they play with. Substitution patterns which have helped WVU will be harder to complete and if they can’t pressure Tyler Shough, it could lead to big plays in a secondary that got beat badly last season. I think no matter what quarterback plays for WVU they hang close but can’t get it done in the end.
Texas Tech 31, West Virginia 26
Aaron Parker: After an emotional win in the Backyard Brawl last week against Pitt, the Mountaineers now set their sights to Big 12 play, as the 1-2 Texas Tech Red Raiders come to town. The Red Raiders have struggled to this point, as an opening season loss at Wyoming set Joey McGuire’s squad up for a potentially disappointing season. Despite the slow start, I expect Texas Tech to bring their A game against the Mountaineers, as they have had WVU’s number since Neal Brown came to town in 2019, winning each of the four meetings against WVU. I think, with Garrett Greene still injured and a limited playbook for Nicco Marchiol, this could be a trap game for WVU after a big win. I think it stays close for the entirety of the game, but I see Tech stealing another win from the Mountaineers.
Texas Tech 28, West Virginia 20
Patrick Reneau: I think with this game we are going to see West Virginia utilize the passing game much more than they did against Pitt. However, knowing Texas Tech’s offense, I expect them to do the same and this to be a high scoring game. I believe this is the year Neal Brown gets his win over Texas Tech though with a game winning field goal.
West Virginia 34, Texas Tech 31
Mark Wratchford: Big 12 Conference play opens this week against Texas Tech for West Virginia’s Gold Rush event. Texas Tech is a team that Neal Brown has yet to beat, and he has also yet to win three consecutive games at any point at West Virginia. West Virginia has won consecutive games and enters in with the superior record to Texas Tech. Texas Tech has lost to Group of Five opponent Wyoming in overtime and at home to Oregon before getting their first season win over FCS opponent Tarleton State last week. And it looks like Nicco Marchiol will be getting the start this week. If he can be more than a game manager and be accurate passing the ball, I think West Virginia has a chance to cover the spread, if not win.
West Virginia 27, Texas Tech 24
Korey Moore: West Virginia should be able to take advantage of the inconsistency of quarterback Tyler Shough, but the Red Raiders have proven they can score regardless. I expect a close game but don’t see the Mountaineers breaking the losing streak. West Virginia’s offense should do well, but it will slow down after last week’s game against Pittsburgh, keeping the Red Raiders on top from scoring.
Texas Tech 27, West Virginia 22
Bryce Cohen: West Virginia and Texas Tech are facing off in their first Big 12 action of the year. With Nicco Marchiol trending toward getting the start at QB for the Mountaineers, it’s more than likely going to be another low-scoring bout if West Virginia wants to pull out a win. Texas Tech has a high-octane offense that is averaging 34.6 points per game so far this season, with two one-score losses to Wyoming and No. 10 Oregon. Notably, Neal Brown led WVU teams are 0-4 against Texas Tech. This game provides an opportunity for Brown to coach a statement win against a team that has had his number and to ride a three-game winning streak into TCU where the Mountaineers will face another challenging Big 12 opponent. With all the cards stacked against the Mountaineers, I believe West Virginia’s defense plays their best game of the season. If they can intercept two or more of Texas Tech’s QB Tyler Shough’s passes, I think West Virginia will be able to slip away with a close, low-scoring win.
West Virginia 20, Texas Tech 17
