Score Predictions for West Virginia vs. Texas Tech

On December 1, 2024By Littum

The last game of the 2024 regular season is here. West Virginia will take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock this afternoon, looking for win No. 7. Can they have it? Here are our predictions for the game.

West Virginia’s pass defense will be tested today with Behren Morton slinging it all over the place. Morton puts up big numbers, but many of his passes come out of the rushing game with some shots mixed in. Tech plays at a very fast pace and West Virginia has struggled against offenses that have turned it up this season, most notably Pitt.

Even though Texas Tech’s pass defense is even worse than West Virginia’s, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Mountaineers will have their way through the air. Without Traylon Ray and Jaden Bray, WVU will be a bit shorthanded at receiver, and the unit as a whole has struggled to win against man coverage all season.

West Virginia cannot afford to let Texas Tech dictate the pace and flow of this game. If they try to play at Tech’s speed, they will be boated. They must do everything they can to hold on to the football and milk the clock to limit possessions.

WVU hangs in, but Texas Tech emerges victorious.

Prediction Record: 7-4.

Texas Tech looks to secure its first eight-win regular season since 2009 on Saturday. The Red Raiders started the season 5-1 but have since dropped three of their last five games, though they went into Ames and knocked off an 11th-ranked Iowa State team.

West Virginia has seen more lows than highs this season, given the expectations in and around the program. However, the Mountaineers are determined to close out the regular season with a win.

Texas Tech has been very good in Lubbock in the regular season finale and is 10-2, including an eight-game winning streak in those games. Meanwhile, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown is 4-0 during the week of Thanksgiving, which generally falls on the regular season finale, but during the COVID season, the Mountaineers finally finished the regular season in Ames on Dec. 5. However, there was a scheduled game against Oklahoma on December 12 in Morgantown, but the game was canceled. So let’s stick to the Thanksgiving week stats.

Neal Brown picked up his first win against Texas Tech in Morgantown last year after dropping the first four meetings.

The Red Raiders will be motivated for redemption because of the toughness of running back Thaj Brooks. The senior has rushed for over 100 yards in all 10 of his appearances this season, amassing 1,317 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Behren Morton has been solid for Texas Tech this season, throwing for 2,976 yards and 25 touchdowns.

For all their offensive success, the defense, like West Virginia’s, has been their downfall. It’s hard to believe there has been a worse defense than the Mountaineers, but the Red Raiders are in a battle with Oklahoma State for the title of “Big 12’s Worst Defense.”

In what I thought was a “throw up” game from the beginning of the season, today applies. I don’t like the stats against WVU in this one with Tech’s home success and recent streak history, but like last week, I’m going with the elusive Garrett Greene.

The Mountaineers didn’t necessarily need heroics in last week’s win against UCF, but they will most likely need some big plays down the stretch to steal the win and I don’t think will allow that to happen.

Garrett Greene has a big fourth quarter as running backs CJ Donalson and Jahiem White nail the run game and steal a Lubbock 37-34 win.

Prediction Record: 7-4.

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