ESPN College GameDay 2014: Week 10 Schedule, Location, Predictions and More
No. 10-ranked TCU will venture outside the Lone Star State in Week 10 for an epic Big 12 matchup against the No. 20-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, one of the more surprising success stories of the 2014 college football season.
TCU is coming off a staggering 82-27 win over Texas Tech, a game in which they scored 10 touchdowns and put up nearly 800 yards of total offense. The Mountaineers are no slouches, however, and have rattled off four wins in a row against Big 12 opposition.
This could very well be the game of the week, and ESPN's College GameDay announced, via Twitter, that the program will be on hand in West Virginia to capture the excitement:
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Long-time prognosticator Lee Corso and the rest of the merry band of traveling pigskin predictors will make the trek up to Morgantown, West Virginia, on the banks of the Monongahela River, for what should be a highly entertaining contest between two rivals.
TCU, by virtue of their top-10 ranking, are still playing for a shot, however remote, at the inaugural College Football Playoff.
Here is all the info you need to watch the preview show and the big game later in the day.
ESPN College GameDay: Week 10 Info
Date: Saturday, Nov. 1
Time (ET): 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
| November 1 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 10 TCU | No. 20 West Virginia | ABC/ESPN 2 | Watch ESPN |
Preview and Prediction
West Virginia has been an impressively stubborn team in 2014, refusing to back down against even the toughest of opponents. That steely grit and determination will be absolutely necessary against an awe-inspiring Horned Frogs offense.
The Mountaineers are 1-2 against ranked opponents this season, but their overall point differential in those games is just minus-nine. Indeed, quarterback Clint Trickett and company have been playing their best football as of late, scoring signature wins over then-fourth-ranked Baylor and conference-rival Oklahoma State in Weeks 8 and 9, respectively.
Trickett may not strike fear into opposing defensive coordinators the way TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin does, but he's certainly had his moments this season. The senior slinger has 17 passing touchdowns against just five interceptions this season, and he certainly put up points in a hurry in the Mountaineers' 34-10 win over the Cowboys in Week 9, per SmartFootball.com's Chris B. Brown:
Trickett's favorite option is the virtually unguardable wideout Kevin White. The secondary-shredding senior has 72 receptions for 1,047 yards and eight touchdowns in 2014. He routinely makes unbelievable catches and will be the focal point for the Horned Frogs' defense on Saturday.
TCU should be able to scrounge up a couple of turnovers in this game, considering they've forced opponents to cough up the football 21 times this year, tied for sixth best in the nation per NCAA.com.
Early turnovers, or really any turnovers, are a dangerous proposition against the Horned Frogs, who are averaging 50.4 points per game, the best mark in the nation.
For a sampling of the absurdly high offensive standards at TCU, look no further than this quote from head coach Gary Patterson after his team put up 82 points against Texas Tech. Via a postgame report from GoFrogs.com:
"I don't think we played well all game. We still had to kick three or four field goals in the red zone in the second quarter. If you want to win a championship, you have to play better. I'm way happy for them, but I told them before the ballgame they weren't ready after watching them warm up. Fortunately for us, we didn't play well and we won a ballgame.
"
It's tough to figure out who might've upset Patterson in that game, considering there were star turns all around. Boykin threw seven of his 21 total passing touchdowns against Texas Tech. The fleet-footed quarterback has been pure nightmare fuel for defensive coordinators all season long.
The Mountaineers' blueprint for success should be their 41-27 upset win over high-octane Baylor, but TCU is better suited to deal with West Virginia's blitzing strategy.
Bears quarterback Bryce Petty completed just 16 of 36 passes in that game and was under constant pressure. Boykin is much more mobile and should be able to buy time with his feet and find guys like Josh Doctson and Deante' Gray.
The only way to limit his effectiveness may be to move him to a different position, as Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen jokingly suggested, via Fox Sports Southwest's David Ubben:
The home crowd should give the West Virginia defense a boost, but it simply won't be enough for this team to keep pace. The score will be close, but in the end the Horned Frogs will come away victorious.
Prediction: 52-31, TCU wins
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
