Line has moved -1.5 since we first saw it (ISU -1.5 to ISU -3).
Betting
Spread
WVU favouredMarket ISU −3Ours Pick
ISU favouredgap 3 toward WVU
Grey dot: the market · gold: our card line · small dot: FEI (bcftoys.com). A gap is a reason to look, not to bet.
Vegas
| Team | Spread | Points | Moneyline | Win% | Kalshi |
|---|
| WVU away | +3.0 | 25.3 | +130 | 41.7% | 41% |
| ISU home | -3.0 | 28.3 | -155 | 58.3% | 59% |
| Total | 53.5 | |
ISU -1.5 when first seen, now ISU -3 · total 53.5 then, 53.5 now. Over -108 / under -112 · DraftKings, 2026-10-02 06:00 UTC.
Our model — cards
| Team | Spread | Points | Win% | vs book |
|---|
| WVU away | 0.0 | 26.7 | 50.5% | -3.0 |
| ISU home | 0.0 | 26.8 | 49.5% | +3.0 |
| Total | no total model | | | |
FEI — bcftoys.com
| Team | Spread | Points | Win% | vs book |
|---|
| WVU away | +15.0 | 19.7 | 15.5% | +12.0 |
| ISU home | -15.0 | 34.6 | 84.5% | -12.0 |
| Total | 54.2 | | | +0.7 |
"Points" is the implied score for each side: a spread and a total are the margin and the sum, so solving them back out says what each team is expected to score. A favourite is shown negative, the way a book quotes it. "vs book" is that model's line for the team minus the book's, so a plus means the model makes them the weaker side. Our cards are EA College Football 27 launch ratings rolled up; the gap between two teams is multiplied by a scale fitted on this season's results (real margins have run about 1.8 times the raw gap), plus 2.5 points of home field; the win chance comes from how far 7,877 FBS results landed from a line. FEI is Brian Fremeau's projection, shown as a reference only: measured on his own results pages it went 49.9% against the spread over 3,101 games (2022–25), and the pickers never see it. Neither model has shown it beats a closing line.
Team ratings
| Points vs an average FBS team | WVU | ISU |
|---|
| Offence (cards) | +1.746th | +0.457th |
| Defence (cards) | -0.472nd | -0.573rd |
| Card team rating | +1.352nd | -0.063rd |
| SP+ (CFBD's rating, theirs) | +1.464th | +3.458th |
| FEI (bcftoys.com, theirs) | -0.068th | +0.624th |
| F+ (FEI + SP+, theirs) | +0.065th | +0.644th |
| Card line | ISU -0.0 (the gap ×1.87, fitted on 215 games, plus 2.5 home field) |
| Returning production | 14% | 2% |
Cards are EA College Football 27's Week 3 Ratings (EA re-rates weekly; we take the newest) with CFBD's measured stats shown beside them; the team rating rolls EA's starters up with the NFL position weights, unmeasured for college. SP+ is opponent-adjusted; ours is not yet.
Quarterbacks
Michael Hawkins Jr. WVU81 ▲2 overall · Sophomore
Points added per play0.421
Completion60.0%
TD–INT5-1
Pass attempts, median game16
Pass yards, median game144
Rush yards, median game103
Games this season4
Team throws per game16.2
Jaylen Raynor ISU80 overall · Senior
Points added per play0.208
Completion54.3%
TD–INT5-3
Pass attempts, median game18
Pass yards, median game159
Rush yards, median game30
Games this season4
Team throws per game23.5
The starter comes from the maintained depth chart (cfbdepth.com). The rating is EA College Football 27's Week 3 Ratings (EA re-rates weekly; we take the newest); everything under it is what CFBD has measured this season, as a median game rather than a total so a man who missed time is not shrunk.
Against the number
| Team | ATS | Cover% | vs spread | O/U | vs total |
|---|
| WVU away | 2-2 | 50% | -1.9 | 4-0 | +5.0 |
| ISU home | 2-2 | 50% | +7.1 | 2-2 | +0.5 |
Against DraftKings' closing number, this season. A record of what happened and nothing more — cover rates do not predict, which is why the pickers never see them.
Streak trends
| Team | Split | Streak (4+), and what happened next in 8,097 games |
|---|
| WVU | away | gone over 5 straight — next game went over 46.2% of the time (2484 cases) |
| WVU | away underdog | gone over 5 straight — next game went over 46.2% of the time (2484 cases) |
| WVU | away division | gone over 4 straight — next game went over 47.1% of the time (5399 cases) |
Cover, win/loss and over/under streaks in every split (home, away, favourite, underdog, division, primetime, big favourite), counted against the closing line. Measured over every FBS season on file: cover and over/under streaks revert (fade 6+); college win/loss streaks tell you nothing against the spread (50%), so they are shown here but the picker ignores them. These never reach the pickers' bundle; the "streak" row on the picks board bets on its own.
Venue, weather, rest and travel
Built when the game's bundle is (Jack Trice Stadium).
Who is out (reported)
Nothing in the news for either side. College publishes no official injury report, so absence of news is not a clean bill of health.
Covers.com injury tags
| Team | Player | Status | Since | Note |
|---|
| WVU | C. Ball TE | questionable Undisclosed | Sun, Sep 27 | Ball is hampered by an undisclosed injury, and it has yet to be established if he will face Iowa State on Saturday, October 3th. |
| WVU | C. Talley RB | questionable Hamstring | Sun, Sep 27 | Talley tweaked his hamstring, and it has yet to be determined if he will kit up against Iowa State on Saturday, October 3th. |
| WVU | A. Devine RB | questionable Undisclosed | Sun, Sep 27 | Devine is hobbled by an undisclosed injury, and it is up in the air if he will be available against Iowa State on Saturday, October 3th. |
| WVU | M. Boswell RB | questionable Undisclosed | Sun, Sep 27 | Boswell is dealing with a Undisclosed injury, but he is expected to suit up against Iowa State on Saturday, October 3th. |
| ISU | C. Crawford DL | out Undisclosed | Thu, Oct 1 | Crawford is sidelined due to an undisclosed injury, and is not expected to face the West Virginia on Saturday. |
| ISU | C. Pabst WR | out Knee | Thu, Oct 1 | Pabst is sidelined due to an undisclosed injury, and is not expected to face the West Virginia on Saturday. |
| ISU | J. Singletary CB | out Undisclosed | Fri, Sep 25 | Singletary is nursing with an undisclosed injury, and he will miss an undetermined length of time. |
| ISU | E. Miller RB | probable Undisclosed | Thu, Sep 24 | Miller is dealing with a Undisclosed injury, but he is expected to suit up against the Utah on Saturday. |
| ISU | L. Galer TE | questionable Undisclosed | Thu, Sep 24 | Galer is dealing with an Undisclosed injury, and it is undetermined if he will play against the Utah on Saturday. |
| ISU | T. Claiborne WR | questionable Undisclosed | Thu, Sep 24 | Claiborne is dealing with an Undisclosed, and it is unclear if he will play against Utah on Saturday. |
| ISU | R. Peppers RB | questionable Undisclosed | Tue, Sep 22 | Peppers is battling with an undisclosed injury, and it is yet to established if he will face the Utes on Saturday. |
| ISU | J. Bailey WR | out Undisclosed | Tue, Sep 1 | Bailey is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and it is unclear when he will return. |