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The Liberty Bowl was meant to be a matchup between West Virginia and Tennessee, but as we know with 2020, nothing is settled until the game officially kicks off. Tennessee had to withdraw from bowl play due to COVID-19 issues and the military, looking for an extra game, was happy to replace thefts.
The Black Knights now have the opportunity to win their 10th game for the third time in the past four seasons and for the fourth time overall in program history. Coach Jeff Monken continues to do a great job at West Point and is expected to be on the shortlist for more Power Five coaching gigs.
Mountaineers are no longer in reconstruction mode. In Year 2 – or, in practice, Year 5 – Coach Neal Brown did a good job of himself bringing this program to at least the middle tier of the Big 12 rankings. West Virginia is led by a strong defense that has been the Big 12’s best unit for most of the year. But the offense has been hunkered down or failed, mostly due to sketchy offensive line play and wide drops from receivers.
These two programs have actually played three times in their history, but the most recent match was in 1961 when West Virginia won 7-3. We could enter a similar contest almost 60 years later with the types of defense involved. So who wins this showdown? Let’s take a closer look at the scenarios and showdowns to follow before making expert choices both directly and against the spread below.
Storylines
West Virginia: As with any team facing the army, it is essential to stop the triple option. You can usually tell quickly whether a defense is up to the challenge or not. Triple option teams are going to do one thing, and there aren’t many in-game adjustments that can be made. While the mountaineers’ run defense has been good – they’ve only allowed eight run scores all year – defending the option requires visual discipline and good angles. Dante and Darius Stills are forces along the D line and the linebacker unit is strong as well. If West Virginia can win early on, they should be able to win the game.
Army: Holding the ball has been a key factor in the military’s success this year. The Black Knights have a +8 turnover margin in nine wins and -3 in two losses. It is not always the trial and error that turns out to be costly, which one might think with a team that runs the ball as much as the army. Two interceptions played a role in the Army’s worst performance of the year: a 38-12 loss to Tulane. Three fumbles almost proved too costly in a one-point win over Georgia Southern. If the military is to achieve its 10th victory of the year, it has to be good with ball safety.
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Information display
Game: Liberty bowl
Dated: Thursday December 31 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Liberty Bowl Stadium – Memphis, Tennessee
TV: ESPN | Direct: fuboTV (Try for free)
Liberty Bowl prediction, pick
Last Chances:
West Virginia Mountaineers -10
The line for this game started at West Virginia -7.5 and is now at -7. A hook would give army supports a bit of wiggle room if you want to go with the spread. Points total may be the best play though. At 41.5 the total is low, but the military has been solid on the underside and West Virginia’s attack is unreliable. You can sweat a bit, but going with the underside here looks like a solid game. Picks: less than 41.5 | West Virginia 24, Army 16
So who wins the army against West Virginia? And which side of the spread hits more than 70% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of West Virginia vs. Army is spreading to the rear, all from the advanced model on a 56-36 run on his top-rated college football picks this season.
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