NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Thursday, October 29, 7:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1
Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas
Line: TCU (-14)
After beginning the season 3-0, the West Virginia Mountaineers find themselves mired in a three-game losing streak and are in danger of sliding under .500 with a loss on Thursday night to the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU, on the other hand, is No. 5 in the country and sit in prime position to run the table and make an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Can the Mountaineers pull the upset on Thursday night?
The two main reasons for the Mountaineers’ struggles have been turnovers and poor play defensively. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was expected to have one of the best units in the Big 12 in 2015 due to the return of 10 of the 11 defensive starters from 2014. With the level of experience and talent on that side of the ball, the defense should be a strength for the Mountaineers. But poor play and an injury to safety Karl Joseph, the team’s best player, has made the group play horribly in the last three games, all against conference foes.
While the Mountaineers are ranked 19th in the country averaging 486 yards per game offensively, Dana Holgorsen‘s team has turned the ball over 12 times. Against Oklahoma, West Virginia turned the ball over five times and that loss could be pegged directly to those issues. The following week against Oklahoma State, the Mountaineers turned it over four more times and lost in overtime to the Cowboys. If West Virginia is going to upset TCU on Thursday night, the offense can’t turn the ball over at all.
TCU has to be feeling good heading into this game after the injury to Baylor quarterback Seth Russell. With the Bears now forced to play a true freshman quarterback in Jarrett Stidham the rest of the season, the Horned Frogs are the clear favorites to win the Big 12 and make an appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Against the Mountaineers, quarterback Trevone Boykin and the Horned Frogs’ second-ranked offense shouldn’t have any issues putting up points. It wouldn’t be shocking to see TCU match, or better, the 62 points that Baylor put up on West Virginia on October 17. Boykin is getting glossed over as a Heisman Trophy favorite because of the play of Leonard Fournette, but that’s a mistake as he’s the best quarterback in the country.
The 14-point spread is way too low. Expect the Horned Frogs to send a message coming off of a bye week, and this game could be the beginning of the end of Holgorsen’s tenure at West Virginia.
Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
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