The West Virginia Mountaineers will be traveling to Provo for a Friday night matchup with the undefeated BYU Cougars. Kickoff is set for 10:30PM EST, and the WVU football will be looking to bounce back from back-to-back embarrassing performances to begin Big 12 play. The road ahead does not get any easier as the Cougars are ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll and pose a rather strong home-field advantage. Let’s take a look at some Over/Unders for the matchup.
49.5 Rushing Yards for Khalil Wilkins
With Nicco Marchiol being ruled out for several weeks and Jaylen Henderson not playing well in the matchup with Utah last week, could it be Khalil Wilkins' turn to get the nod as the starting quarterback on Friday night? Khalil Wilkins’ performance in the loss to Utah was one of the very few, if not the only, bright spot in the blowout loss. Wilkins converted on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Cam Vaughn and ran the ball 9 times for 39 yards. Obviously, the line of 49.5 is largely dependent upon Wilkins getting considerable playing time. If you think Wilkins may get the start, take the over, and let’s see if the redshirt freshman can give this struggling WVU offense a shot in the arm on the road.
99.5 Rushing Yards for LJ Martin
BYU Running Back LJ Martin is averaging exactly 100 rushing yards per game through the Cougars’ first four games. Interestingly enough, just one of his 55 carries this season has resulted in a touchdown. The Junior running back from El Paso, Texas, has been a key reason for the early-season success of BYU. In their lone Big 12 Conference game, Martin rushed for a season-low 58 yards on 15 carries against Colorado. His performance against Colorado was the only time this season he failed to reach the 100-yard mark on the ground. While WVU has struggled more against the run in Big 12 play than they had in the non-conference, take the under here.
8.5 WVU Pass Catchers
In a game to forget against Utah, WVU completed just six passes to three wide receivers. Cam Vaughn led the way with three catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. Without Marchiol and a real possibility of starting redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins on the road, the Mountaineers will likely be looking to run the football. In a bad offensive showing against Kansas, WVU had nine players catch at least one pass, though the leading receiver had just 26 yards. Due to the unknown regarding the quarterback position, take the under of 8.5 here.