The West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Houston Cougars in Houston, Texas. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1.
Houston is favored by 13 points on the spread with a moneyline of -525. The total is set at 49.5 points.
Here’s my West Virginia vs. Houston prediction and college football picks for Saturday, November 1, 2025.
West Virginia vs Houston Prediction
- West Virginia vs. Houston Pick: West Virginia +14 or Better
My Houston vs. West Virginia best bet is on the Mountaineers. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
West Virginia vs Houston Odds
| West Virginia Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+13 -110 | 49.5 -110o / -110u | +390 |
| Houston Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-13 -110 | 49.5 -110o / -110u | -525 |
- West Virginia vs Houston point spread: Houston -13 (-110), West Virginia +13 (-110)
- West Virginia vs Houston over/under: 49.5 (-110o / -110u)
- West Virginia vs Houston moneyline: West Virginia +390, Houston -525
West Virginia vs Houston Preview
This is the hold-your-nose special of the week.
I came into the season with high hopes for Houston, in large part because I trusted Willie Fritz, whom I hate fading.
He's certainly done what he usually does as a program-builder and has the Cougars ahead of schedule at 7-1 to start the season and in the thick of the Big 12 title race.
With that said, we may have hit the peak of the market on the Cougars, who really should have lost earlier this season at lowly Oregon State and benefited from playing an extremely shorthanded Arizona State team last week in Tempe. They also got to face Colorado when the Buffaloes inexplicably started their backup quarterback.
They've benefited from an easy schedule with several built-in breaks.
Conversely, West Virginia has played one of the 20 most difficult schedules in the nation to date. All six of its FBS opponents are likely headed for a bowl appearance, while only three of Houston's seven will likely make a postseason appearance.
I think the Mountaineers are a bit undervalued after dealing with so many injuries throughout the season, while basically fielding a brand-new team with an entirely new staff.
They've used four different quarterbacks and are now down to true freshman Scotty Fox, who I thought played extremely well last week against TCU after head coach Rich Rodriguez made some tweaks to the offense and offensive line. Fox finished that game 28-of-41 passing for 301 yards, along with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a six-point loss in which the 'Eeers finished with only one fewer net yard.
While it's hard to predict what we'll get from Fox (who went 6-for-17 at UCF) again, I believe the offense can carry that momentum over into this weekend.
So, what are my concerns?
Well, besides betting against Fritz, West Virginia has been dreadful on the road, and this is a noon kick with travel and a true freshman quarterback. That's certainly not ideal, especially if things go haywire for an offense that likes to use tempo.
Like most Fritz teams, the Cougars want to establish the ground game, but they're not very efficient at it. Plus, West Virginia's run defense has been a strong suit so far this season.
The pass defense does give up too many explosives in Zac Alley's aggressive scheme, which could be problematic against a Houston offense that has surprisingly thrived in that department under transfer starting quarterback Conner Weigman. Alley will undoubtedly bring the blitz on obvious passing situations, which has caused Weigman issues in the past. Hopefully, the negative plays outweigh the explosives.
Plus, Houston doesn't profile as a very scary large favorite and may come out a bit lethargic for an 11 a.m. local kick against a winless Big 12 team following its huge upset win over the Sun Devils.
I'm OK selling high in this spot, but it's undoubtedly a bit spooky trusting this West Virginia team on Halloween weekend.
Pick: West Virginia +14 or Better
