West Virginia heads into its matchup with Cincinnati riding a three-game skid, yet the early line still has the Mountaineers as a small favorite.
That number may not hold. The way West Virginia has defended lately has plenty of people expecting the spread to tilt toward Cincinnati as kickoff gets closer, especially with little trust in what the Mountaineers are doing on that side of the ball.
The Bearcats also come in with their own warning sign. Their only loss so far came last week against Arizona, the same Wildcats team that had just been in Morgantown. That one got away from Cincinnati in a hurry, with Arizona rolling to a 34-7 win and piling up a 522-227 edge in total yards.
There is at least one scheduling wrinkle working in Cincinnati’s favor. The Bearcats had last week off on a bye, while West Virginia is staring at its seventh straight game.
That sets up a game that could be heavy on points. West Virginia’s defense hasn’t shown signs of getting sorted out, and the Mountaineers’ rushing attack still looks difficult to stop.
Cincinnati’s defense hasn’t been sharp enough to inspire much confidence either, ranking 15th in the league and allowing 401.6 yards per game. A few weeks ago, the Bearcats also gave up 31 points to Miami...
Ohio.
West Virginia and Cincinnati are set for a 12 p.m. ET kickoff. The game will air on TNT and can be heard on Mountaineer Sports Network on the Varsity Network App.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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The projection is even less encouraging when it comes to the bigger goals. ESPN gives West Virginia only a 14.6% shot at reaching six wins, while the chances of taking the conference or reaching the College Football Playoff are essentially nonexistent. The game-by-game forecast also paints a matchup-by-matchup picture of where the obstacles are likely to come, with historical context adding to the sense that the schedule is not likely to offer much relief. [Read more 🡒]
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Rodriguez has made clear his frustration with how little progress the defense has shown, even as the staff continues to work at fixing it. For a team still searching for its first Big 12 win, the issue has gone from a weekly concern to the defining problem of the season, and there is no easy answer until the Mountaineers start getting more stops. [Read more 🡒]