West Virginia University’s Mountaineer mascot poses before a Big 12 Conference football game against Iowa State on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Morgantown.
West Virginia University’s Mountaineer mascot poses before a Big 12 Conference football game against Iowa State on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Morgantown.
On Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia University entertains Baylor in a football battle of similar teams.
Both can score in bunches and neither plays great defense. That makes for a potentially entertaining game featuring the 5-4 foes.
Normally in such a close matchup, the smart bet would be to take the home team, but the Mountaineers are just 2-4 at Milan Puskar Stadium this season. The defeats have been to strong teams in Penn State, Kansas State and Iowa State, squads that outclass the Bears. Both WVU and Baylor lost to Iowa State — the Mountaineers 28-16, the Bears 43-21. Those point spreads also appear to give WVU an advantage.
The results of game since losing to the Cyclones, however, favor Baylor. The Bears are 3-0 since then, beating Texas Tech 59-35, Oklahoma State 38-28 and Texas Christian 37-34. The Mountaineers have gone 2-1, falling 35-18 to Kansas State before topping Arizona 31-26 and Cincinnati 31-24.
Baylor’s offense is running a notch higher than is WVU’s, leading to a late 31-28 victory on Saturday.
Coastal Carolina at Marshall
Meanwhile, in Huntington, keep a close eye on the scoreboard at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Saturday.
Numerous times through the years, the board has displayed the time 11:14 and the score Marshall 7, the opponent 0.
11-14-70.
How often the board has shown that combination of numbers in the Thundering Herd’s game on “75†week is uncanny. It evokes chills as fans remember the 75 people killed in the Nov. 14, 1970, Marshall plane crash near Tri-State Airport. The odds of the Herd taking a 7-0 lead at that exact time are astronomical, yet it has happened at least three times in recent seasons.
Coastal Carolina, Marshall’s foe at 1 p.m. Saturday, will be reverent and respectful of the remembrance of the 75. Still, the Chanticleers will give the best they have to beat the Herd. It’s not personal, just business.
Coastal Carolina is 5-4, and 2-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. It needs a victory against Marshall, Georgia State or Georgia Southern to be bowl-eligible and would rather not chance waiting any longer.
The Chanticleers can score, but keeping the opposition out of the end zone has been a problem. That’s going to be the case again Saturday. Expect the Herd to honor the 75 and send fans home happy, racking up more than 500 yards in a 35-21 victory.
Oh, and look for Marshall to take a 7-0 lead at the 11:14 mark.
