Not Calling for the Upset, But Phil Steele Likes WVU This Weekend vs. Texas Tech

The college football guru is back for one final pick.

West Virginia University quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

No one, and I mean no one, is expecting West Virginia to pull off the upset this weekend over No. 5 Texas Tech. That said, it wouldn't be the first time a four-win team stunned the world in the final week of the season, especially in Morgantown. Crazy things happen in college football, and there's a reason why the game is played.

To wrap up this week's content on the In the Gun podcast, college football expert Phil Steele stopped by one final time this season to give his thoughts and pick on the Mountaineers.

Phil's analysis and prediction

“Believe it or not, I’m not going to call for an upset. But I do think West Virginia stays within the spread here because Texas Tech, as dominant as they’ve been, and they have an excellent run D, which struggles for me because I think West Virginia needs to be able to run the ball, although they did throw for 353 against Arizona State. But the weather has an advantage, and I think once you get to the second half, Texas Tech does not need style points anymore. What they need to do is simply win this game, and if they’ve got this game locked up, I’m worried about winning the Big 12 title game next week. That’s going to be a huge matchup for me, so you may see them get a little conservative in the second half.

"And the one thing I’ve seen with West Virginia this year is they have pretty much been a scrappy team almost every single game. Point your finger right at Rich Rod. I think Rich Rod is a hell of a coach, and I think this is an extremely scrappy team that’s going to come in here, thinking they have a chance to win, and I think they’re going to give good effort. I like West Virginia plus the points in this one. I don’t see Texas Tech getting their normal blowout. Their closest win all year has been by 22 points. I’m going to say they win by less than that this week. I’m going to say less than 21, but no, I’m not going to call for the upset here. I’ll say I did a Washington show prior to them playing Wisconsin, and I said, I think Wisconsin’s going to give them a game, but I’m not going to call for the upset, and then Wisconsin goes and upsets Washington.”

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