CFB Bits: West Virginia at TCU Preview.
#23 West Virginia (3-1) @ #6 TCU (4-0)
Saturday; 3:30 / FS1
TCU - 13.5
O/U 68.5
ESPN College GameDay will be at the seventh meeting between West Virginia and TCU. The scoreboard should illuminate with fantastic brilliance with two of the nation's leading offenses squaring off.
Both teams are coming off open dates. West Virginia defeated Kansas and TCU upset Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The Frogs had other hurdles to negotiate besides Oklahoma State. They handed Arkansas easily and beat a SMU squad that beat them last year. West Virginia's only competition was a loss against Virginia Tech on opening weekend. It's a revenge game for the Frogs. West Virginia defeated them last year; 34-10.
The elephant and the hippopotamus in the room in this game are the two offenses. West Virginia has the second best offense; (48.8 points a game, 595 yard average.) and seventh best yards per play average; (7.4). Quarterback; Will Grier, has completed 94 passes for 1374 yards and 13 touchdowns. Running back; Justin Crawford, leads the Big 12 with an average of 113 yards per game and six touchdowns. The receiver combination of Gary Jennings and David Stills are lethal with 847 receiving yards combined and eight touchdowns.
The TCU offense doesn't lag behind much with quarterback; Kenny Hill, completing 72.6 percent of his passes for 965 yards and nine touchdowns. The Frog offense averages 47.8 points per game and 7.9 yards per play.
The key to this game is how well TCU can control the ball. They will need a big game from running back; Darius Anderson. West Virginia is 105th in the country in time of possession, so TCU should be able to limit Mountaineer opportunities. On defense, TCU needs to pressure and shut down Grier. He is second in the nation in points generated. TCU already faced the player that is first, and contained Mason Rudolph.
Pay attention to third down plays in this game. The West Virginia defense is second best in allowing third down conversions; (31.7 percent); but the TCU defense are right behind them, allowing at a 32.1 percent rate. The TCU offense has the best percentage at converting third downs.
Everything points out on the Frogs side in this matchup. The home field, the revenge factor and the competition it has faced compared to West Virginia. The Mountaineers haven't been tested in over a month. I'll go with the ESPN indicator; (88.4 percent) and the points.
TCU wins; 52-38
