Baylor v. W. Virginia

When we started this blog several years ago, I had no idea that we would end up paying so much attention to Baylor and West Virginia.  Until last year, these schools had never played each other -- and, in fact, had little in common other than having lots of Baptists on campus.  But then West Virginia crushed Clemson in the 2012 Sugar Bowl to take the Unofficial College Football Championship back to Morgantown.  The Mountaineers then took their program to the Big XII -- and that explains how their first ever game against Baylor turned into a battle for the UCFC.  The Eers won that game by the ludicrous score of 70-63, and I thought we'd heard the last of Baylor for awhile.  But the Bears rallied toward the end of season, and won the UCFC themselves.  In fact, Baylor has won seven UCFC games in a row -- including all three of their games this season, laughers against Wofford, Buffalo, and Louisiana-Monroe.

Now Baylor is playing its first major conference opponent of the year -- and sure enough, that team is West Virginia.  The Mountaineers no longer have Geno Smith, their great quarterback from last year, and their play so far in 2013 has been downright eccentric.  They are 3-2.  Their losses include a disastrous 37-0 defeat against Maryland in Baltimore, and a hard-fought 16-7 loss at Oklahoma.  Their wins include an impressive 30-21 home victory over Oklahoma State.  Traditionally, West Virginia plays to the level of their competition, and I think we can assume they will go all out in tonight's game.

Baylor, on the other hand, hasn't had a competitive game since last December.  But they are at home, and teams rarely lose UCFC games at home.  The Bears are up to number 17 in the country on the basis of their three blowout wins, and the folks in Vegas have made them 30-point favorites in a game where the over-under is 72.  That would translate into a 51-21 victory for Baylor, which is the sort of score that could put them into the top 10.