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Texas opens as a 10 point favorite v West Virginia

TexasMan

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BrazilHorn

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12 hours ago, El Squared said:

One of the truly amazing wonders of the universe is that Kork Bowels gets paid to write his opinions.

This baffles me as well. How in all of the newspaper gutting/consolidation someone hasn't replaced him with a set of monkeys on typewriters is beyond me.

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dingleberryswitzer

dingleberryswitzer 2724

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4 hours ago, hornfromdallas said:

fun fact tony was a silent commit to texas even had the texas edit done until texas told him he wouldnt start on the day he was set to officially commit

he had to have a new edit done swapping the texas jersey for wvu on his commitment date

Wow, so another dude with a grudge against UT probably going to have his best game of the season.

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LTtxfan

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Horns247 Staff Predictions: Texas vs. West Virginia

By. TAYLOR ESTES Nov 5, 2020

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Bobby Burton

The Mountaineers are coming off of their most complete game of the season, a home thrashing of Kansas State, 37-10. In talking with a couple of West Virginia folks, they are confident about their chances against the Longhorns. They feel their team is peaking. The defense is playing with a new coordinator who has added a few wrinkles that has caused some issues for opponents, and the WVU offense seems to be clicking by using its running backs in the run and pass game to effectively move the chains. But WVU has yet to play a good game away from home this season, losing to both Oklahoma State and Texas Tech on the road. Texas must limit the WVU run game and get pressure on QB Jarrett Doege, while the Texas O finds a way to score in the high 20s. If the Horns can’t score that many against the Mountaineers, Texas will be in trouble.

West Virginia 27, Texas 24 

FUCK CHIP BROWN 

We're six games into the season and the Texas offense still has no identity. If not for the short fields created by four forced turnovers by the Texas defense, UT doesn't win the Oklahoma State game. Can Texas count on forcing turnovers this week against West Virginia, which is getting better on both sides of the ball and has the No. 1 run and pass defense in the Big 12?

Every time I think Texas has figured something out or crossed some hurdle, they give up double digit explosive plays (a season-high 14 last week against OSU) or get flagged 13 times for 142 yards. After seven overtime periods through six games, Texas has been leading the life of a riverboat gambler all season. It wouldn't surprise me if the Horns go to overtime with WVU on Saturday. And UT seems to win every other OT game.

West Virginia 31, Texas 28

Jeff Howe

I get the feeling this game is going to play out in a very similar manner to the Oklahoma State game because of what I’m expecting along the line of scrimmage. There’s an advantage for the Texas defensive line taking on a West Virginia offensive line that’s not spectacular and is going to have a hard time dealing with the athleticism, depth, size and talent the Longhorns boast up front.

On the other side of the ball, I remain concerned about whether or not Sam Ehlinger is going to make it to the end of the season. He’s battered and bruised and with Texas giving up 12 sacks over the last three conference games, facing a defense for the Mountaineers that’s tied for the Big 12 lead in sacks is especially problematic because West Virginia is talented enough that it doesn’t need to blitz and be exotic to cause the Longhorns a lot of problems.

As long as Texas gets at least a push in the line of scrimmage battle and Ehlinger has time to make enough plays, I’ll take the Longhorns to win. With that said, the objective for Tom Herman if he’s ultimately going to get this trending in the right direction and get the Longhorns to the Big 12 title game with a chance to win should be to play above expectations.

Not only is Herman 10-7 against unranked opponents when the Longhorns are ranked, but the 6.5-point spread (according to the William Hill Sports Book as of Thursday morning) is noteworthy. Under Herman, Texas is 4-9-2 against the spread with two outright losses when favored by six or more points in Big 12 play while the program is 2-4 against the spread with two outright losses immediately after posting a victory over a ranked opponent.

I want the Longhorns to prove they’re capable of making such a stride, so I’m not going to go for a cover here. Nevertheless, if Herman wants to begin chipping into the narrative folks have already formed about him as the head coach at Texas, Saturday’s game presents an opportunity to begin turning over a new leaf.

Texas 31, West Virginia 27

Taylor Estes

I’m not feeling great about the Longhorns’ chances Saturday morning against a West Virginia team that seems to be getting better with each passing week and is coming off one of the most complete performances of the year in last week’s 37-10 win over Kansas State. Obviously there were some hiccups in road games this season by the Mountaineers, so Texas better hope that continues when they head to Austin for Saturday’s game. But the 11 a.m. kickoff doesn’t make matters any better for this Texas team, which is 0-2 in 11 a.m. games and has historically played poorly with the first game of the day kickoff time.

With how well West Virginia’s defense has been playing under a first-year DC who was just hired right before the season, I don’t feel confident in the Longhorns moving the chains effectively against the Mountaineers. I said this in the pregame chat last weekend and I am going to stick with my prediction that Texas finds a way to lose this game after upsetting Oklahoma State last weekend.

West Virginia 34, Texas 31

Mike Roach

Texas is coming off of a big win and is a touchdown favorite in an 11 a.m. game. What could go wrong? Maybe the team is galvanized after a win last week, but I always guard against Texas in these situations. The Longhorns will win but it will be tight.

Texas 33, West Virginia 30

Nick Harris

Another week, another relatively unpredictable matchup. West Virginia has had recent success in Austin and their fans tend to travel well (we’ll see how that’s impacted with the pandemic). However, unlike in many other years, this Texas team is immensely more talented and has the firepower on both sides of the ball to do some damage.

Last week, Joseph Ossai had arguably the best game of his career in getting to the quarterback and stopping the run, and he will need to do more of the latter to help Texas win Saturday. West Virginia running back Leddie Brown has had a strong start to the season and has led the Mountaineers offensively. Texas’ front will need to limit his yards per carry to have a chance on defense. On offense, look for Bijan Robinson to have a big game with increased snaps expected to come his way once again.

Texas 45, West Virginia 31

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Article/Texas-vs-West-Virginia-Longhorns-return-home-to-face-Mountaineers-after-upset-win-over-Oklahoma-State-154229716/

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LTtxfan

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Behind Enemy Lines: Sizing up West Virginia with Eersports.com

By   TAYLOR ESTES Nov 5, 2020

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Horns247 takes you Behind Enemy Lines with Eersports.com publisher Chris Anderson as No. 22 Texas takes on West Virginia Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.

HORNS247: What was the most impressive and least impressive aspect of West Virginia's dominating 37-10 win at home over Kansas State?

ANDERSON: The most impressive thing was the way the wide receivers responded. The group, as a whole, took a ton of flack following the loss to Texas Tech. West Virginia was already No. 3 in the country in dropped passes before that game, and they then dropped either six (per Neal Brown) or seven (per ESPN) in that loss, with the gaffes spread among several different players. Had they only dropped half as many as they did, quarterback Jarret Doege finishes with 500 yards passing, three touchdowns, and WVU wins the game.

Naturally, this was the talk of the postgame and even media meetings throughout the week. It got to the point that Brown admitted he avoided social media altogether and tried not to make a big deal out of it during practice. Then, on the first drive against Kansas State, the receivers made multiple tough catches in traffic and I don't recall any blatant drops in the entire game. Something that was seemingly mental and spreading was just 'fixed,' if only for a game.

The least impressive thing? West Virginia's offensive line. It's been so-so most of the season, but there was an apparent advantage against Kansas State, particularly in the middle. Starting running back Leddie Brown went into the game averaging 7.5 yards per carry between the tackles. Kansas State came into the game allowing more than two yards more per carry between the tackles than outside. Yet, the Wildcats were able to win at the line of scrimmage and push WVU back, forcing Brown to go outside. It ultimately did not matter, but it was a bit discouraging.

HORNS247: The decision of Arizona graduate transfer linebacker Tony Fields II to pick WVU over Texas appears to have been a huge addition for WVU (and a huge miss for Texas). What has Fields' impact been and how big of a blow was his ejection (for targeting) from the first half of WVU's loss at Texas Tech?

ANDERSON: It's been tremendous. Linebacker was a position of worry for West Virginia, with Josh Chandler-Semedo showing some promise, but the Mountaineers not getting much out of former MIKE linebacker Dylan Tonkery. The difference was apparent from Game 1, where Tonkery started, but was replaced a handful of plays into the game by Fields. Fields then registered 10 tackles in only 25 snaps, and took over from there.

His absence from the Texas Tech game certainly had an impact. West Virginia had to completely retool their linebacking corps, as the aforementioned Tonkery had moved to Bandit linebacker because of an injury to the starter there.

I'd say the one negative for Fields is that he's a bit out of control. Obviously, he got ejected on that play, but there was another hit - in the Baylor game - that looked more egregious to me, yet nothing was called. Recklessness might be too strong of a word, but whatever you want to call it, it's also taken him out of some plays, and led to a couple big gains by opposing teams.

HORNS247: It appears West Virginia is improving from week to week. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the team at this point?

ANDERSON: The strengths are on the defense. The weaknesses are on the offense.

Ha! It's almost as simple as that, but that's a big thing with the addition of Fields - he gives the Mountaineers an elite player surrounded by some very good players at all three levels of the defense. On the defensive line is All-Big 12 First Teamer Darius Stills, surrounded by his brother, Dante, and Jeffery Pooler, both of whom are having great years. Fields is at linebacker with Chandler-Semedo. And Tykee Smith, who was a Freshman All-American last year, lines up at safety with Sean Mahone (who led the team in tackles last season) and new stars Alonzo Addae and Dreshun Miller, both of whom have ranked in the top 5 nationally at their position by ProFootballFocus in recent weeks.

On offense, Leddie Brown has been a stud at running back, making guys miss more than at any point from last season. The offensive line has been better than last year, but better than horrible does not mean 'good.' The receivers have been up and down. In the loss to Tech, I mentioned the six or seven drops - and the fumble that was returned for the game-winning touchdown - but Neal Brown said they were having their best game as far as route running and blocking.

Quarterback Jarret Doege is the one who is truly getting better from week-to-week. He seemed off early, but has finished each of the last two games nicely.

HORNS247: How do you think the Mountaineers match up with Texas, including special teams? Where do you think one team has an advantage over the other?

ANDERSON: It's obviously going to be a tough one. West Virginia has struggled when they faced off with a team that has a mobile quarterback, a good offensive line and/or an edge rusher on defense. Texas very well might have all three, and I think that's where they will take advantage

As for West Virginia, I believe the Fields addition is bigger for this game more so than many others. He lines up in a variety of ways, and I think you'll see the Mountaineers put him on the line to try to pressure Sam Ehlinger. Another positive for WVU is that the team have the horses on the defensive line to hold their own, not allowing Ehlinger to plow into the line over and over again like he has in the past against West Virginia (29 carries, 165 yards, three TDs).

On special teams, the coverage units have been solid this season. Punting has been sketchy - with original starter Tyler Sumpter losing his job, then kind of splitting duties with Kolton McGhee. Starting kicker Evan Staley went down with a knee injury and is now out for the year. The return game has shown promise, but has not quite broke a big one, yet, this season.

HORNS247: Tell us how you think the game plays out on Saturday, including a score prediction?

ANDERSON: I think this game will get ugly on Saturday. Not in a blowout kind of way, but in a "punts, miscues, bad offense and turnovers" kind of way. West Virginia's offense can do that on their own at times - especially on the road this year - and the defense is good enough to force Texas into that kind of game.

Things pick up in the second half, but I just don't know if WVU has the firepower on offense right now to keep up, even if this is a bad game for Texas' offense. 28-24, Longhorns.

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Article/Texas-vs-West-Virginia-sizing-up-Mountaineers-ahead-of-Saturdays-game-at-Longhorns-154230254/

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Assman

Assman 1830

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14 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

ANDERSON: It's obviously going to be a tough one. West Virginia has struggled when they faced off with a team that has a mobile quarterback, a good offensive line and/or an edge rusher on defense. Texas very well might have all three, and I think that's where they will take advantage

It's obvious he hasn't watched a single snap this year.

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LTtxfan

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51 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Weird to say, but still feels like the OVER might win today... Even with score of 17-10 TEXAS with 7:31 left in 3rd qtr

Just need 28 more points... 😂

So much for feelings....  17 - 13 TEXAS    6minutes left 4th qtr

 

Unless somehow we get to OT

54.5  O/U

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