W. Virginia v. Baylor

According to Google Maps, Morgantown, West Virginia (home of the Mountaineers) is 1,303 miles from Waco, Texas (home of the Baylor Bears).  Given these facts, it is hardly surprising that WVU and Baylor have never played each other.  And if college football were operating properly, they wouldn't play each other this year either.

But West Virginia and Baylor have both been caught up in the uncertainty resulting from the mad scramble among the conferences that has shaken up the college football world.  Fearful that the Big East would fall apart, and not welcomed by either the SEC or the ACC, WVU was thrilled with the chance to tie its fortunes to that of the Big XII conference -- although I have my doubts about how long this arrangement will actually last.  Meanwhile, Baylor -- very fearful that it could fall into the ranks of the Rices and SMUs who used to belong to a major conference -- is also thrilled to still be in the Big XII.  And so today the 3-0 Bears will travel to Morgantown for WVU's first ever Big XII game.

Ironically, for all their conference worries, both Baylor and West Virginia are playing very well these days.  Baylor is number 25 in the AP poll, while WVU is number 9.  And while the schools have had little contact, the two head coaches know each other well.  Dana Holgorsen (the WVU coach) and Art Briles (the Baylor coach) were both on the Texas Tech staff under Mike Leach from 2000 to 2002, and both teams favor Leach's dramatic spread offense.  In fact, the over/under for this game is a remarkable 83.

The Vegas odds show WVU as a favorite by anywhere from 10 to 11 1/2 points, and that sounds right to me.  It would be stunning for WVU to lose their first conference game at home, even to a dangerous Baylor squad.