Louisville at West Virginia

West Virginia and Louisville each began the season expecting to play in a BCS game. It appears only one team will now have that chance.The sixth-ranked Mountaineers look to keep that hope alive as they try for a fourth straight victory Thursday night in a Big East matchup with the visiting Cardinals.

West Virginia is 6-2 against Louisville, including a 4-1 mark at home. The Cardinals won 9-7 on Sept. 22, 1990 for their lone victory at Morgantown.

Louisville's offense is geared by a passing game that averages 360.9 yards per game; however, they will face WVU's nasty pass defense which has surrendered less than 120 yards through the air over their last five games. On the other side of the ball, WVU's rushing game which churns out almost 300 yards per game could have another big day as Louisville's rushing defense allows over 157 yards per outing. Finally, WVU is 8-3 against the spread (ATS) the last 11 times they played coming off a bye. Factoring in everything above, it is obvious why 71% of the early bettors are on WVU (-16.5)

Pick: West Virginia -17 (3 Stars)