Texas Football: 3 reasons WVU could upset the Longhorns

Texas football could get a real nice launchpad to contend for the Big 12 Championship Game this weekend if they can stave off an upset bid from WVU.

Heading into one of the most underrated key games of the regular season for the Texas football program, fourth-year head coach Tom Herman can’t get ahead of himself in taking on second-year head coach Neal Brown and the West Virginia Mountaineers at home on the morning of Nov. 7. Texas and West Virginia come into this game with identical records at 4-2 (3-2 Big 12), and the betting line isn’t that overwhelming to either side.

Texas is favored over West Virginia in the current betting line (on the late morning of Nov. 6) by a margin of six points. And the over/under is currently set at 55 points. According to the ESPN Football Power Index, the Longhorns have a favorable margin a little over 82 percent to beat West Virginia at home this weekend.

Moreover, the Longhorns are coming off a monumental win back on the road on Oct. 31 over the previously undefeated and No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys by the final score of 41-34 in overtime. Texas was an underdog heading into that game, and Herman really needed a win for this team to keep a lot of the pressure off of his shoulders.

But Texas can’t overlook this game either. West Virginia is one of the most underrated improving teams in the Big 12 this fall. They just pulled off a big upset of the previously No. 16 ranked Kansas State Wildcats last weekend, by the dominant final score of 37-10. There’s a valid case to make that Texas and West Virginia were solely responsible for plunging the Big 12 into further chaos last weekend.

With all of this in mind, here’s a look into the three reasons why West Virginia could pull off the upset of Texas this weekend.