Texas football vs. West Virginia: Prediction and odds Week 5
A good opportunity to bounce back from the worst loss of the season so far for head coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas football lies ahead in Big 12 play this weekend against head coach Neal Brown and the West Virginia Mountaineers. Texas needs to rebound this weekend before facing the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry game on Oct. 8.
Sark and the Longhorns are coming off a tough upset overtime loss at the hands of the Texas Tech Red Raiders on the road on Sep. 24, by the final score of 37-34. The loss to Texas Tech gives Texas a record of 2-2 (0-1 Big 12) heading into this matchup against West Virginia.
Meanwhile, West Virginia comes into this game with a record of 2-2 (0-1 Big 12) following a convincing 33-10 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies on the road on Sep. 24. West Virginia’s two losses on the season came at the hands of the Pitt Panthers and Kansas Jayhawks. And then, the other win came over the FCS Towson Tigers.
Here’s a look at the betting odds and game prediction as Texas gets set to host West Virginia at home at Darrell. K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin on Oct. 1, with the kickoff time set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Texas football vs. West Virginia: Odds for Week 5
Texas is a 9.5 point favorite over West Virginia in this game (per FanDuel). And the over/under is set at 61.5 points.
That remains the same line for the betting odds for this game as we had at the open on Sep. 25.
Texas is also favored in the moneyline (-375) over West Virginia (+290).
Texas football vs. West Virginia prediction
According to the ESPN Football Power Index, Texas has a 85.1 percent chance to beat West Virginia. That is also the same percentage chance from the FPI projecting Texas to beat WVU as we had at the outset of game week a couple of days ago.
This game will serve as an opportunity for the Longhorns to right the ship and build some momentum before Red River arrives next weekend.
It will be big if Texas can get the duo of redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers and star sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy for this game. Ewers practiced since last week and could return from a clavicle sprain he suffered a few weeks ago. And Worthy was limited last weekend when he suffered a lower-body injury early on against Texas Tech.
As long as Texas is able to maintain a solid level of play for four quarters against the Mountaineers, this should be a spot where the team can get a comfortable first win in Big 12 play this fall.
Next. 4 reasons why UT can dominate WVU. dark
There should still be some confidence on the Texas side that this team is improved compared to last season. But they’ll need to show that a complete 60-minute effort with some killer instinct in clutch time can finally shine through against a Big 12 foe.