Who's Playing

West Virginia Mountaineers @ Houston Cougars

Current Records: West Virginia 4-1, Houston 2-3

How To Watch

  • When: Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 7 p.m. ET
  • Where: TDECU Stadium -- Houston, Texas
  • TV: Fox Sports 1
  • Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
  • Follow: CBS Sports App

What to Know

Houston will be in front of their home fans on Thursday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-field advantage. They will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday. Houston will really need to gear up for this challenge, as West Virginia will be their toughest opponent yet.

Houston scored first but ultimately less than Texas Tech in their matchup two Saturdays ago. Houston ended up on the wrong side of a bruising 49-28 walloping at their hands. They have struggled against Texas Tech recently, as two Saturdays ago's contest was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.

Houston's loss came about despite a quality game from Donovan Smith, who threw for 335 yards and four touchdowns while completing 72.5% of his passes. That's the first time this season that Smith threw for 300 or more yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Samuel Brown, who picked up 113 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Even though they lost, the Cougars dominated in the air and finished the game with 335 passing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Texas Tech only threw for 161.

Meanwhile, West Virginia had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15 points), and they went ahead and made it four. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past TCU 24-21.

Garrett Greene looked great while leading his team to the win, rushing for 80 yards and two touchdowns. That's the first time this season that Greene punched in two or more rushing touchdowns. West Virginia also relied on Michael Hayes, whose 49-yard boot in the fourth quarter wound up being the difference in the game.

West Virginia's victory bumped their season record to 4-1 while Houston's defeat dropped theirs to 2-3.

Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday' contest: The Cougars have been unstoppable in the air this season, having averaged 281 passing yards per game. It's a different story for the Mountaineers, though, as they've been averaging only 155.6 per game.

Odds

West Virginia is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Houston, according to the latest college football odds.

The over/under is set at 52.5 points.

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