2022 West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions

2022 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS BETTING ODDS, PREDICTIONS, PREVIEW

This could be Neal Brown’s last season in Morgantown. Brown hasn’t won more than six games in a season since taking over for Dana Holgorsen three years ago, and he has a middling record of 17-18 during his three seasons with West Virginia. The Mountaineers have yet to win more than four games in Big 12 play in his tenure, so he probably needs to win at least seven games with five of those victories coming in conference if he wants to keep his job.

Brown is going to roll the dice with former USC and Georgia quarterback J.T. Daniels over Garrett Greene. Greene was the back-up for Jarret Doege last season, but Daniels has a lot more experience. He burst onto the scene as a freshman with USC in 2018, and he would have likely remained the quarterback for the Trojans if he didn’t suffer a season-ending injury early in 2019. That led to Daniels transferring to Georgia where he played well in limited action, although Kirby Smart was only comfortable running a prehistoric offense. Daniels is now reunited with former offensive coordinator Graham Harrell in Morgantown.

Daniels doesn’t have a lot of talent around him as the leading rusher and receiver from 2021 have moved on. Tony Mathis and Clemsontransfer Lyn-J Dixon will be the top two running backs, while Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Sam James will be the primary receivers.

If the offense is going to improve after finishing 75^th in Offensive SP+ last year, it will be due to an experienced offensive line. All five starters from 2021 return up front, including Second Team All-Big 12 center Zach Frazier. None of the five starters are seniors either, so there should be a lot of continuity next year too.

The defensive line is the strength on the other side of the ball. Dante Stills was a First Team All-Big 12 selection with seven sacks and eight tackles for loss in 2021, and Taijh Alston is back on the opposite end to get to the quarterback. Mike Lockhart provides good depth at nose tackle too after transferring in from Georgia Tech.

West Virginia went to the transfer portal to shore up its linebacking corps. Jared Bartlett and Lance Dixon saw action for the Mountaineers last season, and Lee Kpogba and Tirek Austin-Cave are transferring in from other Power Five programs.

This secondary is a real concern though. West Virginia lost all five starters at defensive back from last year. That led to the Mountaineers scrambling on this front in the spring, and all five projected starters are transfers (one from Colorado State, three from the FCS, and one from JUCO). WVU allowed 7.8 YPA and 224.2 YPG through the air in 2021, and those numbers could skyrocket this season.

Brown could be the first Power Five coach fired this season. West Virginia plays old rivals Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech on the road in September, and the Mountaineers could be 2-4 through the first half of the season with early games at Texas and home against Big 12 champions Baylor. The offense has the potential to be better, but this defense could be substantially worse.  

Best Bet: Under 5.5 Wins (-110)

Updated on 04/25/2024

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2022 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS SCHEDULE

• Thu., Sept. 1 - at Pittsburgh
• Sat., Sept. 10 - vs. Kansas
• Sat., Sept. 17 - vs. Towson
• Thu., Sept. 22 - at Virginia Tech
• Sat., Oct. 1 - at Texas
• Thu., Oct. 13 - vs. Baylor
• Sat., Oct. 22 - at Texas Tech
• Sat., Oct. 29 - vs. TCU
• Sat., Nov. 5 - at Iowa State
• Sat., Nov. 12 - vs. Oklahoma
• Sat., Nov. 19 - vs. Kansas State
• Sat., Nov. 26 - at Oklahoma State

WIN TOTAL ODDS

• Over 5.5 (-120)
• Under 5.5 (-110)

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

+2500

The good news for West Virginia is that the Big 12 isn’t as pass happy as it used to be in the recent past, so this new secondary won’t be punished as much. However, it’s hard to see a path for the Mountaineers to win the conference even if everything goes right. Even if Daniels plays at his best, and this is a top 30 offense, the defense will be too much of a concern. It feels like 8-4 is the ceiling for this team.

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS ODDS TO WIN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

+10000

We aren’t going to see the Mountaineers competing for the national championship this year. There are just too many holes, and WVU is very likely to lose early to either Pittsburgh or Virginia Tech in non-conference play.

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 2022 HEISMAN CONTENDERS & ODDS

J.T. Daniels (QB) +7000

Lyn-J Dixon (RB) +20000

It’s possible that Daniels has a smashing season and puts up big numbers once again, but a lot of his shine has fallen away over the last three years. Daniels would need to be 100-1 or higher to have any value, as 70-1 is just not enough. Meanwhile, Dixon seems set to split carries, so there is no value in him to win the Heisman.

2021 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS BETTING RESULTS

• SU: 6-7
• ATS: 6-7
• O/U: 5-8
• ATS-Home: 4-2
• ATS-Road: 2-5
• ATS-Favorite: 3-3
• ATS-Underdog: 3-4

MORE CONFERENCE ODDS