West Virginia vs. Texas Tech Preview and Prediction

#12 West Virginia (3-0) @ #25 Texas Tech (3-1) 

12:00 | ESPN2 | Lubbock, TX

Spread: West Virginia -4

Stat Leaders

West Virginia

Will Grier (QB): 71/95, 1,117 yards, 14 TDs

Leddie Brown (RB): 31 carries, 171 yards, 1 TD

Marcus Simms (WR): 15 catches, 295 yards, 1 TD

Texas Tech

Alan Bowman (QB): 129/179, 1,557 yards, 10 TDs

Ta’Zhawn Henry (RB): 46 carries, 231 yards, 6 TDs

Antoine Wesley (WR): 30 catches, 511 yards, 4 TDs

3 Keys To The Game

1. Both teams need to establish the running game to keep both defenses honest.

2. Texas Tech’s O-line keeping the young Bowman clean against an attacking WVU front seven.

3. The Red Raider DBs have to be able to keep West Virginia WRs in front of them and not allow too many explosive plays.
3 Bold Predictions

1. Alan Bowman throws for 100+ more yards than Will Grier.

2. West Virginia allows less than 80 yards on the ground and has 3+ sacks.

3. West Virginia is down by 10 or more points entering the fourth quarter, but Grier leads a late comeback to win it.

Game Run DownThis one seems poised to be another Big 12 shootout, as two of the conference’s better QBs will be dueling in Lubbock. Will Grier and WVU have established themselves as one of the nation’s better passing attacks with the amount of elite wide outs that he can throw to, while Alan Bowman has emerged as a future star for the Red Raiders and has an underrated group of WRs. Points shouldn’t be an issue, so, per usual in these types of games, whichever defense can make some key plays will determine the outcome. Turnovers, sacks, and negative yardage plays will play a huge role in this one. To me, this West Virginia D appears to actually be quite a solid unit, and they will force Bowman into enough mistakes to allow Grier and co. to keep one step ahead of the Red Raiders all game long.

Score Prediction: West Virginia 42 | Texas Tech 31

Game MVP: Will Grier | QB | WVU