The TCU Horned Frogs visit the West Virginia Mountaineers Nov 1st
By Ian Palmer
Two of the Big 12’s best teams will meet up this Saturday, November 1st when the TCU Horned Frogs take on the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field in West Virginia. These two NCAA college squads have been red hot lately and combined they’ve outscored the opposition 199 to 73 over the last two weeks. TCU thumped Texas Tech 82-27 last weekend while West Virginia beat Oklahoma State 34-10. TCU is 6-1 on the season and have gone 7-0 ATS. West Virginia is now 6-2 this year.
bet365 college football betting line:
- West Virginia +5.5 at 10/11 and TCU -5.5 at 10/11
The TCU Horned Frogs absolutely hammered Texas Tech 82-27 at home last week to set a new team record for points. The Horned Frogs managed to rack up 30 unanswered points during the second half to walk away with the win. QB Trevone Boykin had a career-best 433 yards in the air and set a new team record by throwing for seven touchdowns. Wide receiver Josh Doctson was on the end of a 51-yard pass for a TD and Deante Gray added a pair of TDs with a team-leading 165 yards. One of these was a 92-yard scoring pass. Unfortunately, Doctson was injured in the game and may miss Saturday’s contest.
TCU was also pretty good on the ground as running back Aaron Green ran for 105 yards on six carries for his first-ever 100-yard outing. The Horned Frogs should continue with an air/ground attack against West Virginia since the Mountaineers conceded 436 yards in their game with Oklahoma State. They gave up 194 yards on the ground and Boykin’s long passes could keep them on the back foot. Defensively for TCU, safeties Sam Carter and Chris Hackett had an interception apiece last week, but the team managed just one sack, which was recorded by defensive tackle Terrell Lathan.
The pass rush wasn’t at its best and this could hurt them against the Mountaineers since West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett has been hot the last couple of weeks with a 67.7 per cent pass completion, five touchdowns, and a total of 560 yards. The Mountaineers’ offensive line has allowed seven sacks in the past two games and TCU’s defensive linebacker Davion Pierson and linemen James McFarland and Mike Tuaua have combined for 12.5 sacks so far this season.
Second-year running back Wendell Smallwood had a career best 132 yards last week on his 23 carries and QB Clint Trickett passed for a couple of TDs and 238 yards against Oklahoma State to give the Mountaineers four consecutive victories. Wide Receiver Kevin White went into the contest with a seven-game streak of receiving at least 100 yards, but he failed to make it eight. He had just 27 yards on three receptions, but had 1,020 yards after seven games. However, receiver Mario Alford made up for it by gaining a season-best 136 yards on seven receptions.
Trickett and his receivers should be able to test the Horned Frogs’ secondary as they gave up 345 yards last week against Texas Tech. If the TCU pass rush is ineffective then Trickett should be able to cause some problems. West Virginia’s defense also played well last week with a trio of sacks and cornerback Dravon Henry intercepted two passes. Defensive lineman Shaquille Riddick is leading West Virginia’s pass rush so far this campaign with five sacks and the Horned Frogs’ offensive gives up an average of 1.5 sacks per outing.
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