College Football Week 4 Free Plays – West Virginia vs Kansas – Maryland vs Wisconsin

Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 at 6 PM ET
David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, airing on FS1:

West Virginia vs Kansas -13.5 O/U 54.5

🏈 Game Snapshot

🔵 Kansas Jayhawks

• QB Jalon Daniels: 223 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT vs. Missouri; added a rushing TD
• WR DeShawn Hanika: 6 catches, 74 yards, 2 TDs last game
• RB Daniel Hishaw Jr.: Limited impact vs. Missouri (6 carries, 11 yards)
• Defense: Gave up 250+ rush yards to Missouri; needs bounce-back effort

🟡 West Virginia Mountaineers

• QB Nicco Marchiol: 19/25, 192 yards, 1 TD vs. Pitt
• RB Tye Edwards: 25 carries, 141 yards, 3 TDs vs. Pitt
• WR Rodney Gallagher III: 7 catches, 61 yards
• Defense: Held Pitt to 24 points; strong third-down unit

🔍 Betting & Contest Angles

• Tempo: WVU plays fast; Kansas prefers ball control
• Turnovers: WVU is 104–16 since 2002 when winning turnover margin
• Weather: Forecast is clear and mild—no major impact expected

🏈 Matchup Overview

• Records: Both teams enter 2–1
• Series History: WVU leads 11–2 all-time, but recent games have been tight
• Betting Line: Kansas favored by 13.5 points; Over/Under set at 55.5

🔵 Kansas Jayhawks

• QB Jalon Daniels: 679 passing yards, 9 TDs, plus a rushing score. Dual-threat leader
• RBs: Daniel Hishaw Jr. (169 yards, 1 TD) and Leshon Williams split carries
• WRs: Emmanuel Henderson and Cam Pickett lead a deep receiver group
• Defense:
  • 10 sacks and 26 tackles for loss through 3 games
  • Former WVU LB Trey Lathan leads with 25 tackles
  • Struggled vs. Missouri’s run game (250+ yards allowed)

🟡 West Virginia Mountaineers

• Coach Rich Rodriguez: Back for a second stint; 192 career wins
• QB Nicco Marchiol: 594 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; benched twice but rallied vs. Pitt
• RB Tye Edwards: Stepping up after Jaheim White’s season-ending injury; 141 yards, 3 TDs vs. Pitt
• Offense:
  • 213 rush yards/game, 223 pass yards/game
  • Plays at the second-fastest tempo in FBS
• Defense:
  • Top 20 in third-down defense (26.1%)
  • Allows just 2.4 yards per carry

Prediction:

Imagine blowing a game that you were supposed to win in an old rivalry at the SEC. Well, that is what Kansas did a few weeks back at Missouri.  The kids are probably reeling to get back on the field after sitting out a bye week.   On the other hand, the Mountaineers had a huge victory at home against Pitt.  West Virginia is probably still celebrating after beating a very poorly coached Pitt team who basically blew their chances at an away win.  The Mountaineers only real strength is rushing the football.  In saying that, why do they only average 4.6 yards per rush when they haven’t even played a tough schedule?  Kansas has proven to me that they can score points with a healthy Jalon Daniels.  Two weeks back vs Missouri, had Kansas’s wideouts not dropped some easy passes, this team beats Missouri.  Kansas ranks 19th in offensive success rate while West Virginia ranks 77th.  The Jayhawks rank 13th in defensive rushing EPA.  I think that the Jayhawks stop the mountaineers in their tracks.  Take Kansas for a blowout win.

Kansas -13.5 – 2 stars

Maryland vs Wisconsin -10 O/U 44.5

• This is another big line move that makes no sense to me.
• Wisconsin’s quarterback Billy Edwards transferred from Maryland, so the angle here is that he wants revenge.
• My question is, revenge for what?  They did nothing bad to him.   He wasn’t exactly helping the team win games.
• The data on these teams is skewed some based on Wisconsin playing a good Alabama team, but the other two teams that they played were Miami Ohio, and Middle Tennessee State.  One would think they would have a better than 0.08 yards per play.
• Maryland played three cupcakes, but they at least have a positive 1.28 yards per play.
• This line moved without us even being sure that Billy Edwards is healthy.  He has just a half game of data points, and may come into this game injured or nervous if he even plays at all.
• The Badgers play at a slow tempo ranking 123rd in the league at 33 seconds in between plays.  That isn’t a lot of time to cover big spreads, or to make up for mistakes.   Maryland has a solid run defense thus far.   I will take the points.

Maryland +10 – 2 stars