The West Virginia Mountaineers (+15) will meet their conference foe Kansas State Wildcats (-15) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Kickoff for this matchup is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and ESPN has the TV rights.
Betting Preview: West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Kansas State Wildcats
In this Saturday Big 12 game, Kansas State is getting picked as the big favorite and is currently giving up 15 points. The Mountaineers are also receiving +510 moneyline odds while the Wildcats are -750. Oddsmakers have placed the over/under (O/U) at 50.5 points. It appears that there should be some solid in-game betting opportunities in this showdown.
The Mountaineers are 3-5-1 against the spread (ATS) and have lost 0.8 units so far. The team has posted an O/U record of 4-5.
The Wildcats are up 2.1 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 7-2 ATS and have an O/U record of 3-6.
The Mountaineers have gone just 3-6 straight up (SU), including 1-5 SU against conference opponents. The Wildcats are 6-3 SU overall and are also 3-3 SU in conference play.
The Mountaineers lost to Texas Tech 38-17 in a thumping where the defense allowed the Red Raiders to pass for 354 yards while rushing for 127 yards and four scores. Dalton Rigdon had a good day for the Red Raiders in that one with 106 yards and a score on three catches. On the offensive side of the ball, the Mountaineers completed 38-of-61 passes for 498 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Austin Kendall went 26-for-43 for 355 yards and two interceptions while Jarret Doege completed 11-of-17 for 119 yards and one touchdown. Leddie Brown (just 16 rushing yards on six attempts) led the running attack in the loss while Sam James (14 receptions, 223 yards) and Winston Wright (six catches, 25 yards) shared the receiving duties.
One week ago, Texas got the win against this Kansas State crew by a score of 27-24. The Wildcats defensive unit allowed the Longhorns to run for 214 yards on 36 rush attempts, including two rush TDs. Keaontay Ingram had a solid outing, posting 139 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts for Texas. For Kansas State, Skylar Thompson completed 17-of-27 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Burns (26 rushing yards on eight attempts) handled the ground attack in the defeat while Dalton Schoen (five receptions, 68 yards) and Malik Knowles (three catches, 94 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack.
West Virginia has run the ball on 42.3 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Kansas State has a rush percentage of 64.8 percent. The Mountaineers have run for 75.8 yards/game (including 74.2 per game against Big 12 opponents) and have seven scores via handoffs this year. The Wildcats are logging 198.8 rushing yards per game (158.2 in conference) and have 25 total rush TDs.
If the numbers so far this season are any indication, then it seems like the Mountaineers may have the more disruptive lines up front. Their offensive line has yielded just 29 sacks while the D-line logged 28 sacks. The Wildcats O-line has allowed 33 sacks and their defense has sacked opposing QBs on just 18 occasions.
The Mountaineers offensive scheme has averaged 253.9 yards through the air overall (268.7 per game against conference opposition) and has 15 passing TDs so far. The Wildcats have produced 180.7 pass yards per outing (184 in the Big 12) and have nine total pass scores.
Defensively, West Virginia has allowed opponents to run for an average of 172.1 yards and throw for 248.9 yards per game. The Kansas State defense has given up 194.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 172.0 yards per game on the ground. The Wildcats are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 5.38 to opponents, while the Mountaineers have given up a 7.63 ANY/A.
Thompson probably has the edge over Kendall in this matchup. His adjusted net yards per pass attempt stands at 7.51 for the season and 8.66 over his past two outings while Kendall’s ANY/A is 5.51 and 4.96 over the past two outings.
When these two teams met a year ago, West Virginia won soundly 35-6.
West Virginia Mountaineers at Kansas State Wildcats NCAA Pick
SU Winner: West Virginia, ATS Winner: West Virginia, O/U: Under
Team Betting Trends
- The West Virginia defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 26 times this year. Kansas State has recorded just 16 sacks.
- The Kansas State offense has lost seven fumbles in 2019 while West Virginia has let five get away.
- The Mountaineers offense has produced nine pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Wildcats have put up two such plays.
- The West Virginia defense has allowed four pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Kansas State has given up two such plays.
- The West Virginia offense has created five rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Kansas State has created 12 such runs.
- The Mountaineers defense has allowed five rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Wildcats have given up 16 such runs.
- The Over/Under for Kansas State’s previous match going into it was 56.5. The under cashed in the 27-24 defeat to Texas.
- Over its last three contests, Kansas State is 3-0 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- In its last three matchups, West Virginia is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- The O/U for West Virginia’s last game going into it was 57. The under cashed in the team’s 38-17 defeat to Texas Tech.
- As a team, West Virginia has produced 1.6 yards per carry across its past three outings and 1.5 over its last two.
- Kansas State has averaged 4.6 yards per carry over its last three games and 4.6 over its last two.
