Vegas Play of the Day: West Virginia at TCU

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015 | 2 a.m.

We've reset the Play of the Day with fresh bankrolls and turned it into a yearly competition. Our three sports writers have re-started with $10,000 bankrolls to continue using on odds from the South Point.

West Virginia plus-13 at TCU: $330 to win $300

I guess I should have written this Play of the Day last night, as West Virginia was available at plus-14.5. I would have made a much larger wager, but as it stands, there’s still enough value on the Mountaineers to entice me.

It would be easy to write off West Virginia with its three-game losing streak, but look at the competition — Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. The Mountaineers also showed flashes in each of the contests, including losing in overtime to the Cowboys.

Forget about the 3-3 record; there’s no doubt this is the best team TCU has played this season. The Horned Frogs are finally going to encounter a defense they can’t simply walk over with the Mountaineers ranking No. 24 on that side of the ball by Football Outsiders’ S&P metric.

Nick Kwiatkoski and Shaq Petteway compromise one of the Big 12’s best pair of linebackers. They were part of a core that led TCU throughout most of the game last year until a last-second field goal allowed the Horned Frogs to escape Morgantown, W.V., 31-30.

There’s reason to expect a similarly close outcome tonight.

Current Standings (as of July 1): Brewer (20-15, $11,320), Bern (13-15, $9,600), Keefer (12-25-2, $4,561)

Lifetime standings: 2014-15 Champion Bern (94-88-1), Brewer (89-102-2), Keefer (96-109-4)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.