VTM Staff Predictions: Texas Tech vs #20 West Virginia

Welp, last week as a staff we called for a 37-36 Texas Tech victory. That obviously didn't happen. We were only off on Texas Tech's final score by one point though, but the Wildcats ended up out-muscling the Red Raiders and hung 44 on our squad. This week the Mountaineers stroll into Lubbock. This one should be a very good game. The Red Raiders opened as a 1-point favorite and now most sportsbooks have West Virginia as a 1-point favorite. Who's going to win this slugfest?

Drew Parker

West Virginia in Lubbock, and homecoming. West Virginia isn't a walk in the park by any means, but I think Texas Tech behind Pat Mahomes will be able to out gun them. 41-35 win.

Texas Tech 41, West Virginia 35

Hunter Cooke

Strange things happen in Lubbock when undefeated teams come to town. West Virginia is good, but not great. Give me Texas Tech in a very close game.

Texas Tech 49, West Virginia 45

Ryan Smith

West Virginia is always dangerous and Kingsbury hasn't gotten the better of his old coach since 2013. Added to the fact that Oklahoma is coming to town the next weekend... everyone is looking ahead to Mayfield's return. The leadership for this team shows up and wills its way to a win to set up a huge showdown against OU. Mahomes, Fehoko, Hinton and Cantrell (if healthy) all have big days and Lubbock can exhale as Tech gets to 4-2 on the year.

Texas Tech 41, West Virginia 31

Eric Linthicum

Getting WVU at home this year really helps sway this one in Tech’s favor. How good WVU is this year is somewhat of a mystery, but they are still undefeated. At face value it does not appear WVU has the fire power to get in a an offensive brouhaha against Tech. If you need some supporting stats then here you go. This year WVU has scored 7 passing touchdowns and 6 rushing touchdowns compared to TTU’s 13 rushing touchdowns and 25 passing touchdowns.

Texas Tech 49, West Virginia 35

Maitland Rutledge

The past two years the Mountaineers have beaten the Red Raiders. Both losses have been tough to stomach. The 2014 loss was a heartbreaker on a game-winning FG after Tech squandered a 34-20 lead in the 4th quarter. This past year's one it just seemed Tech cane out flat on offense and of course the defense struggled. This game should mean a lot for Kingsbury. Tech needs to find a way to get over the hump this year. West Virginia may be undefeated and #20 in the country, but they are not invincible. It's always tough for Big 12 teams to deal with the crowd at the Jones and I think that will help Tech edge West Virginia this year!

Texas Tech 42, West Virginia 41

Kyle Jacobson

The last two seasons, Texas Tech has lost the Battle for John Denver to West Virginia, both times in games that felt like we should have won. West Virginia has already notched wins against Missouri, BYU, and Kansas State, and in my opinion, seem to be a comparable team to K-State. Not only did the two teams go down to the wire in a 17-16 match up a couple weeks ago, but they both pride themselves on defense and running the ball.

The question for Texas Tech is if you can beat that style of play. You didn't last week on the road, but arguably could/should have. Will we see a different result at home, where the offense is averaging nearly 60 points per game recently?

Texas Tech 45, West Virginia 48

Austin Jordan

West Virginia doesn't have an impressive win yet this season, yet travel to the Jones as unbeaten and nationally ranked road favorites. I don't buy it. Mahomes didn't look totally healthy last week and the offense still scored 38 points on a solid Bill Snyder offense. Bowl eligibility for Tech can largely depend on this game, and I expect the Red Raiders to come through.

Texas Tech 52, West Virginia 45

Drew Borsellino

West Virginia comes into Lubbock with a 4-0 record and ranked in the top 25, so props to them. They don't have any eye-popping wins, but they have beat a good BYU team and the Kansas State squad who beat us last week. Those two wins are by a score differential of only 4 points though. This will be the Mountaineers first matchup against a high-scoring uptempo offense. I believe the Red Raiders will catch them off guard, and if the defense can manage a few key stops I expect Texas Tech to pick up a solid win at home.

Texas Tech 42, West Virginia 38

Average Final Score: Texas Tech 45.13, West Virginia 39.75

As a staff, we're predicting a 45-40 Texas Tech victory. I believe that's a very realistic score. I personally don't think either team will win by more than a touchdown, but who wins? Is it the Red Raiders or Mountaineers, VTM viewers?