West Virginia (5-2) at Oklahoma State (5-2) Oct. 25, 3:30, ESPN 

Here’s The Deal: Both teams are 5-2, and both teams are in the same Big 12 title chase boat, but they’re in different places after last week. Oklahoma State is coming off a humbling blowout loss to TCU, while West Virginia is on a roll. 

The Mountaineers lost a shootout to Oklahoma, but that appears to be a hiccup now for an ultra-confident looking team that won three straight with a dominant 41-27 win over Baylor last week. Clint Trickett is playing as well as any quarterback in America, the offense is consistently rolling, and there’s even a little bit of defense now. With OU losing to Kansas State and TCU, West Virginia now controls its own destiny with TCU and Kansas State each coming to Morgantown, and the road games at Texas and Iowa State not that bad. If they can get by Oklahoma State on the road, watch out for the media hype to start ramping up. 

Oklahoma State has tried to find itself over the course of the year, but this is still a rebuilding team that’s fighting through quarterback concerns and an offense that’s hit-or-miss. There’s no shame in the two losses coming to Florida State and TCU, but the best win so far came against Texas Tech – the Cowboys need a good win. With three of the last four games on the road – going to Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma – a loss to West Virginia at home could mean really, really bad news going into the back part of the season. It’ll be hard to get that sixth win just to get bowl eligible, much less fight for a decent spot in the pecking order. 

The sixth time the two teams have met, West Virginia won the first two battles in 1928 and 1929, and won 30-21 last season at home in one of the stunners of the Big 12 season. 

Why West Virginia Might Win: The Oklahoma State pass defense is really, really mediocre, giving up over 200 yards in every game but UTSA when it allowed 133 yards. Giving up big numbers to Jameis and Florida State along with Texas Tech isn’t anything crazy, but Kansas? The Jayhawks came up with 288 yards, and a week later it was TCU and Trevone Boykin who did whatever they wanted throwing for 415 yards and three scores. Just assume Clint Trickett will step off the bus and have 300 yards passing after hitting the mark in every game. OSU has a steady pass rush, but it’s hardly a killer – Trickett should have wide open passing lanes for the mid-range throws. 

Why Oklahoma State Might Win: The Cowboys are going to give up yards and points, but they should get several breaks and they need to take advantage of them. The West Virginia D has only come up with four takeaways on the year with no fumble recoveries – the Mountaineers have lost the turnover battle against everyone but Texas Tech and Alabama. While field position hasn’t meant too much for West Virginia, the field might be tilted towards one side if the OSU punting game continues to be great – the Mountaineers don’t do much on punt returns. 

Who To Watch Out For: With 6-0, 235-pound size, Oklahoma State’s Ryan Simmons isn’t massive, but he’s been able to stay healthy, and the results are coming. A big-time recruit, he got hurt early on and had to redshirt after looking like he’d breakout as a true freshman. He leads the team with 55 tackles, making ten against Texas Tech and 11 against TCU, but he’s making too many plays down the field against the passing game. Expect far more this week – a double-digit tackling day is a mortal lock. 

What’s Going To Happen: The West Virginia offense will explode in what should be a wild shootout. The defense that kept Bryce Petty and Baylor under wraps will be able to hold up just enough to come up with a nice road win and start generating a “this team is a real deal” conversation across the country. 

Prediction: West Virginia 34 … Oklahoma State 27 
Line: Oklahoma State -1 o/u: 65 
Must Watch Factor: 5: Dumb and Dumber To – 1: Manhattan Love Story … 3.5