West Virginia-Baylor Match Score Predictions

This Saturday, West Virginia Mountaineers (5-4, 4-2) will host the Baylor Bears (5-4, 3-3) in a match that can be considered an elimination game when it comes to the Big 12 championship race.

Here are our picks for this week’s action.

While I believe West Virginia is a slightly better team, I can’t trust Neal Brown to keep this team on Dallas’ heels and deliver. Arizona is one of the worst teams in the Big 12, and Cincinnati isn’t as good as their record suggests. Baylor, on the other hand, is one of the hottest teams in the league, and three of their four losses have come against rival teams (Colorado, BYU and Iowa State).

I don’t believe the quarterback situation will matter much for West Virginia. Both Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol have the ability to move the offense and score, and Baylor is allowing more than 35 points per game in conference play.

But therein lies the problem defensively. Baylor has a deep receiving corps, and all four of its top receivers are home run capable. To make it even more difficult to defend the offense, OC Jake Spavital has a pair of running backs in Bryson Washington and Dawson Pendergrass that can really hurt you on the ground. Both appear to average more than six yards per carry.

Not only do I choose to lose West Virginia, but it feels like one of those games where the Mountaineers led for much of the game, only to fall apart late in the fourth quarter.

Prediction record: 5-4.

The Mountaineers are trying to get their first winning streak of the season, while the Bears are trying to extend their winning streak to four.

West Virginia and Baylor suffered early conference upsets in the title race, both losing to Iowa State, but have since separated themselves from the bottom of the league and remain in contention for the Big 12 title.

Baylor ranks third in the league in rushing, averaging 193.8 yards per game, and ranks second in the league with 5.7 yards per carry.

The Bears are led by the stellar play of quarterback Sawyer Robertson. The junior took the reins of the offense in the second game and currently ranks sixth nationally and first in the Big 12 in QB rankings (84.2), leading the Baylor offense to second in the league in averaging 35.7 points during conference play. Robertson threw a total of eight touchdowns in the first two games of the streak, including five against Texas Tech, and rushed for another touchdown but was unable to find the end zone in the Bears’ win against TCU last week.

In the league, Baylor’s defense ranks last in scoring (35.3 ppg) and passing defense (306.7 ypg).

West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene threw for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns; That includes a 29-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Jahiem White with 23 seconds to play in last year’s season finale at Baylor. White racked up 133 yards on the ground and Greene rushed for an additional 103 yards; both averaged more than seven yards per carry.

There is uncertainty heading into quarterback week as Greene prepares to return to the starting role, Nicco Marchiol is 2-0 as a starter over the last two weeks and I expect both quarterbacks to have success against the Baylor defense.

The Mountaineer defense found success last week in Cincinnati, forcing three turnovers under newly promoted defensive coordinator Jeff Koonz, and I suspect the unit will build on last week’s success.

Maybe with a newfound spark on defense, the success of the offense despite the quarterbacks, and Baylor remaining winless in six tries in Morgantown, West Virginia will win a thriller 38-31.

Prediction record: 6-3.