The tough-luck Mountaineers self-destructed in their opener after outplaying Pitt most of the way, then was victimized by Kansas' swift and rugged resurgence, taking a home loss after building a 14-point lead. Now, they desperately need a win Thursday to essentially keep their bowl hopes alive. The Big 12 slate includes matchups against Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Although Blacksburg still isn't an easy place to win, the Hokies are in rebuild mode under first-year coach Brent Pry. Led by quarterback J.T. Daniels and a host of weapons, West Virginia has the edge in personnel and needs to assert it Thursday in order to salvage its season.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the best angle at Virginia Tech for West Virginia is to do what they do. Score. Can I rely on the defense? Not as much. But I could see WVU and its offensive line forcing the issue on offense. VT QB Grant Wells will have to respond, better than he did when throwing four picks in an opening loss at Old Dominion. WVU is in last place in the Big 12 at 1-2 with all three going over the total. Losing to Pitt is not bad, losing to Kansas is now more understandable. WVU is going to do its thing, force the Over.