The Kansas State Wildcats come to town and have been impressive early in the season, sporting a solid offense and a tough defense. Kansas State’s only loss this season came to top-10 foe Stanford and it has the capability to pull this upset.
This matchup in Week 5 of the regular season will take place on Saturday, October 1, 2016, at 3:30 p.m. ET at Milan Puskar Stadium.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas State +3.5
West Virginia -3.5
Over/Under 54
Odds Analysis
The spread looks fair in the eyes of gamblers, as there is a slight majority taking Kansas State to cover, but for the most part each side is getting plenty of wagers.
The scoring total has been deemed too low early on as the “over” is taking a significant portion of the action. West Virginia has been a high scoring team and has had trouble slowing down opponents, so it’s the right call.
Player to Watch
Shelton Gibson -- The West Virginia receiver has proven to be a big-play threat in the earlygoing. He has 16 receptions for 354 yards and two touchdowns on the season, averaging a fantastic 22.1 yards per catch.
He has totaled 171 and 144 receiving yards in the team’s past two games, including a pair of catches for more than 50 yards. Gibson averaged 24 yards per catch a season ago so this isn’t a fluke.
The Kansas State defense has been very good against the pass this season, and slowing down Gibson will be crucial.
Key Stat
179. That’s the total yards allowed per game by Kansas State through the first three weeks of the season. The Wildcats lost 26-13 to Stanford but still played well defensively, and then only gave up seven total points in blowout wins over Florida Atlantic and Missouri State.
The competition ramps back up again in this one, and it’s a crucial matchup for the Kansas State defense. West Virginia comes in averaging 533 yards of total offense, including more than 300 yards per game through the air and more than 200 yards on the ground, so it’s a balanced and lethal attack.
Kansas State has the chance to win this road game, but can only do so if the team defense can bottle up some of West Virginia’s dangerous weapons.
Free ATS Pick
West Virginia has plenty of reason to feel good about itself, and indeed the Mountaineers have started talking about chasing the conference title. They have knocked off Missouri, Youngstown State and BYU to begin the season but this could be the toughest test to date.
Quarterback Skyler Howard looks to build on a season in which he has thrown for 974 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
While the offense is good, the defense has given up 462.7 yards per game, which is a concern. Kansas State has not shown to be super explosive offensively but could have some opportunities for big plays in this matchup.
If those possibilities present themselves, they must be taken advantage of if an upset is in the cards. While the Wildcats need to score consistently, the real decider will be on the other side of the ball.
West Virginia wants to keep rolling up the points but will face a stout group. If Kansas State can force punts and turnover consistently, this one can go its way.
That’s the call in this matchup. Even though the Wildcats are the road underdogs, they could pull off the upset to start Big 12 conference play with an important victory.
College Football Odds: Kansas State 28, West Virginia 27
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