Oklahoma State Cowboys at West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Preview
Coastal Carolina may have brought the mullets mainstream in college football, but Mike Gundy was the original “business in the front, party in the back” man. He travels with his Cowboys to Morgantown, West Virginia, a place familiar with the head man’s hairdo.
As entertaining as the hairstyles may be, it won’t have any impact on the field, where the Cowboys have had a nearly flawless record, with their lone loss coming against Iowa State two weeks ago.
Couple that with a six-game winning streak against the Mountaineers, and Oklahoma State seems primed to fly home with a win on Saturday night.
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Oklahoma State Cowboys Team Preview
Mike Gundy and the Cowboys have found a new M.O. in the Big 12 by leaning on their defense. Oklahoma State leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 18 points per game.
They rank tops in the league in total yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and are second in the conference in passing yards allowed per game. This may be the most impressive part of the Cowboys season, as the Big 12 is known for its high-powered offenses.
Offensively the Cowboys haven’t been as good as years past, but some of that was to be expected. Multi-year starters Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace took their gaudy stats to the NFL and are both contributing on Sundays, but Spencer Sanders remains as the quarterback.
Sanders hasn’t been the most electric player at the position, but he’s brought a veteran presence to the locker room and has made it easier on running back Jaylen Warren, who is averaging over 100 yards per game on the ground.
The Pokes are 6-2 against the spread this season and have covered the spread in six straight games, including all of their Big 12 games. They have hit the under total points spread in all but two of their games.
West Virginia Mountaineers Team Preview
The Mountaineers have had a bit of a roller coaster of a season. They opened the season with a close loss to Maryland and followed it up with two straight wins, one over their neighbors to the East, Virginia Tech.
The season turned with a loss to Oklahoma that had all of the looks of a major upset victory for West Virginia but instead kicked off a three-game losing streak. The team has bounced back with two straight wins, including over Iowa State, the only team to beat the Cowboys.
West Virginia mirrors the Cowboys in a few ways with their rankings in the conference. The team ranks just above Oklahoma State in scoring offense in the Big 12 at seventh and just behind the Cowboys in scoring defense at fourth. The passing defense can be suspect, as the Mountaineers rank eighth in the Big 12, despite only giving up 240 yards per game.
West Virginia is 5-3 against the spread on the year and have won their last two games outright as underdogs. The team has played to the under total points betting spread in five of the eight games this year.
Betting Preview
BetOnline and Bovada have the Cowboys as 3.5-point favorites with a total points betting spread of 48.5.
This game has the feeling of a defensive struggle, a rarity in the Big 12. Expect the team that commits fewer mistakes (penalties, turnovers, etc.) to come out of this one victorious.
Both teams rank at the bottom of the conference in penalty yardage, but Oklahoma State has the edge in turnover margin, so the advantage goes to the Cowboys. If you are going to bet online, take the Oklahoma State to cover. As for those interested in totals betting, bet on over 48.50 points!