MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After 50,000 computer simulations, the quantitative analysts at PredictionMachine.com rated West Virginia as the Big 12’s fourth-best team destined to win between eight to nine games.
For those who like to book travel early, the simulations even projected a postseason matchup against Arizona State in the Cactus Bowl. (It’s Jan. 2 at 10:15 Eastern on ESPN if you’re setting the DVR.)
“We have West Virginia as a top-25 team heading into the season—22nd in our power rankings,” Paul Bessire told MetroNews “Sportsline” during a Wednesday night appearance. “On average, West Virginia wins about 8.5 games.”
Watch the complete video in which Bessire shares PredictionMachine.com’s forecasts on:
— This week’s Ohio State game at Virginia Tech.
— Thursday night’s TCU matchup at Minnesota.
— Neutral-site final scores for Alabama-Wisconsin and Arizona State-Texas A&M.
— The four teams statistically leveraged to make this season’s College Football Playoff. (Bessire’s addendum: “It’s almost a given at this point that a two-loss team makes it.”)