The Mountaineers will look to make it three wins in a row on Saturday when they travel to Tempe, Arizona, for a matchup with the Sun Devils. The 4-6 Mountaineers are continuing their pursuit of bowl eligibility in year one under Rich Rodriguez. As we count down to kickoff, let’s dive into our weekly “Over or Under” installment here on HailWV.
95.5 All-Purpose Yards for Diore Hubbard
It is no coincidence that West Virginia’s ability to collect two wins over the last two weeks comes in the best two Diore Hubbard games of the season. The redshirt freshman followed up a 29-carry, 108-yard performance on the ground against Houston with a 158 all-purpose yard performance at home against Colorado. With numerous injuries and other hiccups at the running back position all season for the Mountaineers, Hubbard has proven to be the feature back for WVU, and that will likely be the case on the road against Arizona State.
The Sun Devils have proven to be the second-best run defense in the Big 12 season, though they trail Texas Tech by a significant margin. Additionally, opposing running backs have seen very little production as receivers out of the backfield in the passing game against Arizona State. With that said, don’t bank on Hubbard getting nearly enough touches to hit the over here; take the under of 95.5 total yards.
99.5 Rushing Yards for Jeff Sims
Sun Devils quarterback Jeff Sims is coming off the best game of his long career that began in 2020 with Georgia Tech. In the road win over Iowa State, Sims threw for 177 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. However, the major headline coming from that game was what Sims was able to do with his legs. The senior quarterback rushed for 228 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. His 228 yards broke a school record for rushing yards in a single game by a quarterback. West Virginia has faced several dual-threat quarterbacks this season and has yet to allow one to reach the 100-yard mark. Expect that trend to continue as WVU defensive coordiantor Zac Alley will look to make Sims beat them with his arm, take the under here.
2.5 Total Passing Touchdowns
This game features two quarterbacks who have recently become starters at their respective schools. One is 23 years old and has been in college since 2020. The Mountaineers’ starter is true freshman Scotty Fox Jr., who will be making his fifth start. Both of these teams like to run the football, as both Sims and Fox Jr. have thrown just one touchdown in each of their last two games for a total of four touchdowns combined. Take the over here, expect one of these quarterbacks to find at least two touchdowns through the air.
4.5 Carries for Curtis Jones Jr.
It’s an incredibly small sample size, but Rich Rodriguez sure does look like a genius for his decisions to give Curtis Jones Jr. carries in goal-to-go situations against Colorado. The WVU linebacker is a former two-time All-State running back in West Virginia. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound bandit picked up two touchdown in three carries on impressive, physical runs inside the 5-yard line. Will Rodriguez utilize Jones Jr. again? We think so, so go ahead and take the over of 4.5 carries for the WVU defender.