West Virginia 10-2 (5-2), 1st Big East
vs
Oklahoma 11-2 (6-2), 1st Big 12 - South Division

January 2, 8pm, FOX

It has been anything but a fiesta for the West Virginia Mountaineers since late December 1st. First they lose to their rival Pittsburgh, 13-9, in a game in which if they won, they would’ve played for the National Title. Secondly a weeks later their coach bolts and takes the Michigan job. As of now, West Virginia does not have a coach, but Bill Stewart will handle the duties for this game. For more WVU talk, head over to the Fanhouse and read what John Radcliff has to say. Oklahoma is another team that has a gripe of playing in the title game. They beat Missouri twice this season, the second time in the Big 12 title game, to land in the Fiesta Bowl. But for Oklahoma fans and players, they hope they do not see a repeat of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl where they lost to Boise State.

The Sooners are led by their record setting redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Bradford. In 13 games this season, Bradford has thrown for 2879 yards, 34 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions. He doesn’t do it all alone, he has a rushing offense that averages almost 192 yards per contest. Carrying the ball for the Sooners is the trio of Allen Patrick, DeMarco Murray, and Chris Brown. The three have combined for over 2200 yards and 29 touchdowns. Those players are a main reason why Oklahoma is 3rd in scoring offense, scoring over 43 points per game. On defense, the Sooners 7th ranked rushing defense will be tested by the West Virginia spread offense. Also their defense is 9th in the country in scoring, giving up only 18 points per game.

When you talk about West Virginia, two names come to mind, Pat White and Steve Slaton. This season, it is apparent that this team will go as far as Pat White will take them. In their two losses, White missed significant time during that game because of an injury. White has run for 1185 yards and 14 touchdowns while throwing for 1548 yards and 12 touchdowns. His backfield mate Slaton is not having as good of a year as the 2006 season, but still has 1053 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. The most interesting stat is that in Slaton’s last 8 games, he has only rushed for over 100 yards twice. The Mountaineers defense is as statically impressive as the Sooners. They rank 4th in total defense and 7th in scoring defense, only giving up 17 points per game. With the type of offenses that these two teams have, I suspect each will give up over their average amounts.

Like USC, I think Oklahoma is playing some of the best football in the country. West Virginia is not. What surprised me most about the Pitt game is how the Mountaineers knew that Pitt was not going to throw, yet they still couldn’t stop the run. When they go out against Oklahoma, they will not have that same luxury. The Sooners can beat you through the air and on the ground. I think we will see a lot of offensive fireworks, but the biggest booms will be from the Boomer Sooners. Oklahoma 31 West Virginia 20

Picking West Virginia to Win (28%)
ITB Charlie Swager, Bastard Sons of Pinfall Marks, Rizzo Sports, MidWest Coast Bias, The LSC Scoop, Logan Jaffe, Lou Nemec, Dan Schoonover, Timmy B

Picking Oklahoma to Win (72%)
ITB Brian Sakowski, Pitch Right, Kansas It’s Business Time, Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, Sportsbone TV, MizzouRAH, The Enlightened Spartan, ITB Ron Juckett, Football Frontier, Corn Nation, Richard Dixon, Mrs Corn Nation, Brian Isaacson, Brant Chruscial, Matt Kieta, Greg Gowins, Sunny Verma, Lorena The Dodgerchick, Pete Boivin, Jason Stiver, Cyril Tircuit, Rodney Polston, Jeff Brancolini