It's the final game in a long, eight-game stretch for West Virginia without a bye week, and they have a great opportunity to capture some momentum heading into the open date with a two-game winning streak.
TCU comes into this one off the heels of a rivalry win over Baylor, pulling them back to .500 for the season. Can the Mountaineers get the job done and scoop up their first road victory of the year?
Here are our picks for this week's showdown in Fort Worth.
Schuyler Callihan: TCU 34, West Virginia 23
Whenever you get a matchup of a high-powered offense and a stingy defense in college football, I always tend to lean toward the offense, believe it or not. This is one of the rare exceptions, and that's simply because the team with the high-powered offense can't stop anybody. Well, they haven't shown they can through four games of the Big 12 schedule, at least, and I'm not sure there will be any fixes any time soon.
The Frogs have had trouble running the football all year long, but if they are ever going to do it, this would be the week. West Virginia has allowed 214.8 yards per game on the ground in conference play, and with defensive lineman Corey McIntyre Jr. considered "doubtful", the Mountaineers will be even thinner up front.
I fully expect Mike Hawkins Jr. and Cam Cook to move the ball and do enough to win, but some failed fourth down attempts in no man's land on the plus side of the field will be part of what prevents West Virginia from winning this one. The offense has to bring its A-game, and anything short of it, you might as well forget about it.
I've got TCU edging out the Mountaineers, scoring a late touchdown for the dagger.
Christopher Hall: West Virginia 46, TCU 44
This matchup pins two of the best units, while two of the worst sides of the ball are searching for answers.
Statistically, TCU has one of the best defenses in the country and leads the Big 12 in total yards allowed per game at 264.2 yards per game, while sitting third in scoring defense, allowing a mere 12.2 points per game.
However, the Horned Frogs have yet to play an offense that ranks in the top half of the league in total offense and the Mountaineers provide plenty of firepower as one of the nation’s best offenses in the country.
Meanwhile, the TCU offense and the WVU defense are among the worst. Although, the Horned Frogs sit better nationally among the rankings.
The question that’s lingered the last few weeks is: can the Mountaineer defense make enough stops to win? The group rallied for a three-and-out on the final Cincinnati drive last week to give the offense the opportunity for a walk-off field goal, and Jack Cassidy delivered.
If the Horned Frogs are struggling, you may not see it on Saturday, and I’m not convinced the TCU defense is as good as the numbers suggest, although they are pretty good.
I’ll put my money on Mike Hawkins Jr. and the offense to outlast the Horned Frogs and make it another instant classic between these two programs. West Virginia wins in double overtime, 46-44.
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