West Virginia vs. Texas Tech Preview

Another Saturday of Big 12 action and WVU is once again in the Lone Star State. There is some speculation that this could be the week that the Mountaineers stumble – but what week doesn’t hold that possibility? One thing we have going for us is our bad defense. No kidding. Psychologically, the defense knows that it isn’t very good and will not suffer from lapses that are related to overconfidence. As Carl Spackler once said, “So, I got that going for me…which is nice.”

Here is why the Mountaineers will prevail against TTU:

T ommy Tuberville is overrated. He’s a good coach but not a great one; Bill Stewart good (to whom Tuberville lost head to head while coaching Auburn vs. WVU in 2008). My Auburn friends still recoil at the mention of his name. AU was loaded with talent and could never get to the big game…until Tuberville was gone. Expect Holgy to out-think Tuberville and his assistants.

E xperience in Texas. There is no overstating how important it was for WVU to go into Longhorn country and come out with a win. We’ve played on the biggest stage in the Big 12 and logged a win against UT. The Lubbock crowd will not intimidate the Mountaineers. WVU now knows that it can play and win anywhere in Texas.

C onfidence in the running game. Buie was outstanding last week, but what national pundits have been slow to recognize is that Shawne Alston was the feature back to start the season. Now that the coaches and O-line have confidence in Buie taking the reigns, expect our offense to be even more potent because teams don’t know which way to go.

H eisman Candidate Geno Smith. He’s getting more confident with each BIG game, so I am anxious to see him throw down in Lubbock. TTU’s defensive backs aren’t nearly the caliber of Texas, so we can look for Geno & Co. to air it out. How fitting given Hologorsen’s return to the area where he really nailed down this system.

Oklahoma’s offense put up 41 points. I’m betting we get more. But we’ll likely give up more, too. My prediction: WVU 59 – TTU 39.

What’s yours?