The West Virginia Mountaineers take on the BYU Cougars in Provo, Utah. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
BYU is favored by -19 points on the spread with a moneyline of -1200. The total is set at 46.5 points.
Here’s my West Virginia vs. BYU prediction and college football picks for Saturday, October 3.
West Virginia vs BYU Prediction
- West Virginia vs. BYU Pick: BYU -18.5
My BYU vs. West Virginia best bet is on the Cougars to cover the spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
West Virginia vs BYU Odds
| West Virginia Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+19 -110 | 46.5 -110o / -110u | +750 |
| BYU Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-19.5 -110 | 46.5 -110o / -110u | -1200 |
- West Virginia vs BYU point spread: BYU -19
- West Virginia vs BYU over/under: 46.5 points
- West Virginia vs BYU moneyline: West Virginia +750, BYU -1200
West Virginia vs BYU College Football Betting Preview
West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Preview: Wilkins Aiming to Fix Mountaineers' Broken Offense
West Virginia enters Provo with an offense that’s broken in all the wrong ways.
The Mountaineers rank 96th in Success Rate, 108th in explosiveness and last at 130th in third-down conversions. Their offensive line hasn’t held up either, as West Virginia sits 97th in Havoc Allowed — meaning sacks, blown plays and negative yardage are a weekly reality.
Enter Khalil Wilkins, a redshirt freshman quarterback likely making his first career start. That’s a brutal setup against a BYU defense designed to punish inexperience with pressure and disruption.
Wilkins isn’t being asked to rescue a competent unit — he’s being asked to fix one of the least efficient offenses in the power conferences.
Without the ability to generate explosives or sustain drives, West Virginia’s attack has no reliable way to keep pace. Even “average” categories, such as penalties or production, offer no edge here.
Against most defenses, this offense is a liability. Against BYU, it looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
BYU Cougars Betting Preview: Defense Key to Covering Big Spreads
If you’re laying a big number, you want a defense that can dominate on its own — and BYU checks that box. The Cougars rank 29th nationally in Defensive Success Rate and 21st in Havoc, forcing negative plays and keeping opponents behind the chains.
They’re elite in the red zone (14th in Finishing Drives allowed) and suffocate field position (third nationally in opponent starting field position).
Pro Football Focus grades BYU as the 32nd-best defense in the nation, confirming what the metrics show: This is one of the most disruptive and fundamentally sound units in the country.
The Cougars don’t just slow you down — they choke out possessions before they begin. In betting terms, that profile matters. A defense that wins field position and produces turnovers is exactly how big spreads get covered, and BYU has all the ingredients.
West Virginia vs BYU Pick, Betting Analysis
The matchup is about as lopsided as it gets.
BYU’s defense thrives on havoc and short fields, while WVU’s offense specializes in stalling out. That clash — BYU’s 21st-ranked havoc defense versus WVU’s 97th-ranked havoc allowed offense — tilts heavily toward the Cougars.
Add in West Virginia’s bottom-three third-down offense facing BYU’s top-30 third-down defense, and it’s hard to picture Wilkins sustaining many drives in his first-ever start.
The Cougars don’t need to play fast or hang 50 points to cover this number — their defense alone should manufacture extra possessions and quick scores. With PFF grading BYU’s defense inside the national top-35, the Cougars have both the analytics and the matchup edge to turn this into a rout.
Lay the -18.5 confidently. This is the exact type of game where BYU’s disruptive profile overwhelms an overmatched opponent.
Pick: BYU +18.5
