Score Predictions for WVU vs. Arizona

After a couple of disappointing losses, the West Virginia Mountaineers are hoping to get back on track and scoop up their first league win of the season this Saturday, playing host to the Arizona Wildcats.

Here is how we see this one playing out.

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 41, Arizona 38

Rich Rodriguez doesn't lose three games in a row very often, and fortunately for him and the Mountaineers, they have a few things working against Arizona coming into this matchup.

The early kick will be a challenge for them, but maybe not as much as being without three of their top four receivers (Tre Spivey, Giovanni Richardson, and Chris Hunter III, top tight end Cole Rusk, and top running back Ismail Mahdi, who is now ineligible.

Noah Fifita will still do his thing, but if West Virginia can FINALLY stop the run, which Arizona has not been great at this year, they will have a chance to get just enough stops to allow the offense to get a lead and hang onto it.

When WVU has the ball, it will be a matchup of good-on-good with Arizona boasting the 11th-best run defense in the country, and the Mountaineers ranking 3rd on the ground at 294 yards per game, trailing two of the service academies. WVU may not rush for 290 in this one, but they won't be stymied.

And with how much Arizona likes to blitz, they have been vulnerable to explosive plays in the passing game this year. Yes, they get home a bunch, but when they don't, it has spelled trouble for them. Blitzing against a dynamic QB like Mike Hawkins Jr. is a little dangerous, not only because he can rip off a huge run, but because he is one of the top downfield throwers in college football.

I don't have a ton of confidence in it, but I'll go West Virginia.

Christopher Hall: Arizona 37, West Virginia 34

West Virginia is searching for its first Big 12 win of the season, and it will be tough to find against Arizona.

Noah Fifita will have an opportunity to increase his season average in passing yards per game to over 300 yards against one of the worst passing defenses in the country in West Virginia.

The Mountaineers surely won’t fix their issues in one week, and if they happen to improve, Fifita can pick up first downs with his feet. It was a challenge to contain Coastal Carolina’s Deuce Bailey in the season opener, and the veteran creates greater challenges.

Fair or not, the offense will have to continue to pick up the slack. The unit has improved week in and week out, and Mike Hawkins Jr. has been exciting to watch. For the Mountaineers to have a chance, they will need to win in a shootout.

Arizona averages 151.6 yards per game on the ground with a trio of running backs and behind a big offensive line. The Wildcats will likely sustain a long drive to close out the game against an undersized defense desperate to stop anything. Mountaineers drop another heartbreaker, 37-34.

Joey Bray: Arizona 42, West Virginia 31

After giving up at least 570 yards in each of their first two Big 12 conference games, it's hard to imagine that West Virginia has any success stopping the Arizona Wildcats' offense. I went into last week thinking the Mountaineers' front seven had shown some ability to stop the run and force a team into passing situations. That was clearly proven wrong by the Iowa State rushing attack.

The Arizona offense boasts a physical run game and a quarterback in Noah Fifita who is averaging 283 yards per game, the highest mark of his career thus far. While I have no doubt that West Virginia's offense will be capable of putting up as many points as the Wildcats, it's been proven that there are bigger issues than that.

At the end of the day, West Virginia is a hard team to trust right now despite starting 3-0. Until they show any kind of improvement on defense, it's going to be hard to pick them to win many games in conference play. I'll take the Wildcats to come into Morgantown and pick up a victory.

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