West Virginia vs. Texas Tech Prediction, CFB Week 10 Odds & Best Bets (11/7)

Fact checked at 9:15 AM ET, Nov 7, 2026

Odds as of 8:07 AM ET, Nov 7, 2026

West Virginia (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) visits No. 15 Texas Tech (7-1, 4-1) at 9:30 PM ET in Lubbock. Texas Tech is a 16.5-point favorite, the total is 65.5, and the Mountaineers are rested after a bye that followed a 24-20 win at TCU. Texas Tech should win this game. West Virginia should still score, though, and most of its touchdowns go through two players: quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. and running back Cam Cook, who have 25 of the team's 38 offensive touchdowns between them. We're backing both to find the end zone.

Texas Tech's run defense is what stands in the way. It allows 94.9 rushing yards a game, held Arizona to 12 last week, and has given up a rushing touchdown to only Cincinnati and Arizona in seven games against FBS teams. West Virginia runs for 261.6 yards a game, though, and Cincinnati already showed this defense can bend, running for 255 yards in a 37-24 win over the Red Raiders. If Texas Tech holds West Virginia to field goals, neither pick cashes.

West Virginia vs. Texas Tech Predictions

• Pick #1: Michael Hawkins Anytime Touchdown (-195)
• Pick #2: Cam Cook Anytime Touchdown (-170)

PICK #1: Michael Hawkins Anytime Touchdown (-195)

The best case for Hawkins comes from the games where West Virginia's offense struggled. In the 41-24 home loss to Oklahoma State and the 24-20 win at TCU, the Mountaineers scored six touchdowns, and Hawkins ran in five of them, from 5, 3, 9, 2 and 36 yards. The spread and total put West Virginia somewhere in the mid-20s tonight. When this offense has been held to that range, Hawkins has still been the one finishing drives.

He has scored in all eight games this season, with 16 rushing touchdowns and 836 rushing yards on top of 1,598 passing yards. Outside the blowout of FCS UT Martin, he has carried at least 18 times every week.

At -195, that's a 66.1% chance, near the top of what we'd lay. Texas Tech's run defense is the hurdle. Thomas Castellanos is projected to start at quarterback for Texas Tech, and an offense built on his running can shorten the game and cut into West Virginia's possessions. Hawkins isn't listed on the Big 12 availability report and is set to start. If he doesn't play, the bet is typically voided.

PICK #2: Cam Cook Anytime Touchdown (-170)

Cook has two ways to score, and that matters against a defense this good at stopping the run. His touchdowns against Cincinnati and at TCU both came on catches, from 40 and 13 yards. He also gets goal-line carries: he scored twice on the ground at Iowa State and against Arizona, including a 1-yard run.

Cook carries a big share of the load: 923 yards on 186 carries, seven rushing touchdowns and two receiving, and he's scored in six of eight games (five of seven against FBS teams). His two blanks came on big days anyway: 30 carries for 123 yards against Virginia, when Hawkins ran in all three rushing scores, and a season-high 193 yards on 29 carries against Oklahoma State.

At -170, the break-even is 63.0%. Cook splits the short-yardage work with a quarterback who has 16 rushing touchdowns, and he managed just 40 yards on 15 carries against Cincinnati. If West Virginia's drives stall against this run defense, he won't get many chances.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.