Sports

West Virginia Looking To Beat Baylor In Waco For First Time

October 19, 2017 / 1:33 PM CDT / CBS Texas

West Virginia @ Baylor, Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Line: West Virginia by 9

Series Record: West Virginia leads 3-2

WHAT'S AT STAKE

West Virginia will try to win at Baylor for the first time. The Mountaineers have won all three home games against the Bears, but suffered decisive losses in both of their previous two trips to Waco, 62-38 and 73-42. Baylor has lost 12 consecutive regular-season games, the equivalent of a full season. The Bears lost six straight games to end the 2016 regular season, then beat Boise State in the Cactus Bowl, before starting 0-6 this season.

KEY MATCHUP

West Virginia WR David Sills V, the national leader with 12 receiving TDs, against an improving Baylor secondary. DBs Blake Lynch and Harrison Hand are tied for the Big 12 lead with six passes broken up this season. Sills' first game for the Mountaineers was two years ago in Waco, and he had a 35-yard TD in that game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

West Virginia: QB Will Grier's 21 passing TDs are tied for the national lead. The Florida transfer has completed 151 of 230 passes (65.7 percent) for 2,092 yards halfway through his first season with the Mountaineers.

Baylor: Sophomore LB Clay Johnston is third in the third in the Big 12 with nine tackles for loss. He leads the team with 45 tackles.

FACTS & FIGURES

Now in its sixth Big 12 season, West Virginia has a 24-24 record in conference games. Of Baylor's 17 touchdown scoring drives, only two have lasted more than 2 ½ minutes. When the Mountaineers scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to beat Texas Tech last week, it was the seventh time this season to score at least 20 points in a quarter.