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The West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. Check out our college football odds series for our West Virginia Pittsburgh prediction and pick.
College football is filled with colorful regional rivalries. Most of them exist within one state, but plenty spill into multiple states. The Backyard Brawl is one such example, bringing the state of West Virginia into Western Pennsylvania for the fight against the Pittsburgh Panthers. This celebrated series was discontinued after the 2011 meeting between the Mountaineers and the Panthers. Eleven years later, it's back, and the fact that it occurs in Week 1 on a Thursday night — the first really big game of the whole 2022 season, before Saturday's showcase events — adds to the anticipation surrounding this moment.
In addition to the rivalry energies and passions which are enlivening this game, the specific plot points attached to each team are fascinating in their own right.
West Virginia has J.T. Daniels at quarterback. He transferred from USC to Georgia. When Stetson Bennett won the national title, Daniels knew he needed to go to another program to get regular playing time. He landed in Morgantown, where head coach Neal Brown hired a new offensive coordinator, Graham Harrell, to call plays and reduce some of the responsibilities from Brown's plate. Harrell just happens to be Daniels' former offensive coordinator from their USC days in 2019. Harrell coached Daniels, who got hurt early in that 2019 season and did not regain the starting job for the Trojans.
Why did Daniels not regain the starting job for USC three years ago? Good question. The answer: The quarterback for Pittsburgh in this 2022 season opener beat out Daniels.
That's right: Kedon Slovis was a teammate of J.T. Daniels on that 2019 USC roster. He played for Graham Harrell as well. Slovis transferred out of USC this offseason, knowing that Harrell was not going to stick around on the new coaching staff. Slovis went to Pittsburgh. At the time, Jordan Addison was still on the Panther roster, but Addison transferred to USC to play for quarterback Caleb Williams and head coach Lincoln Riley. Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who helped guide the Panthers to the 2021 ACC championship, left to take the offensive coordinator spot at Nebraska under Scott Frost. Frank Cignetti is the new offensive coordinator for the Panthers.
That's a lot to keep track of. The main point: Two former USC quarterbacks, Daniels and Slovis, will go head to head, and one of the quarterbacks will be guided by his 2019 offensive coordinator. There is no shortage of intrigue in this game.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the West Virginia-Pittsburgh College Football odds.
College Football Odds: West Virginia-Pittsburgh Odds
West Virginia Mountaineers: +7.5 (-110)
Pittsburgh Panthers: -7.5 (-110)
Over: 51.5 (-115)
Under: 51.5 (-105)
Why West Virginia Could Cover the Spread
J.T. Daniels has been waiting to have his offense, his team, his season. He has had chances to play at USC and Georgia, but injuries and the performances of other teammates have prevented him from getting to play a full season under center. This is a chance to take hold of a job and make it his own. That's a powerful motivator. What should also help West Virginia is that Graham Harrell can provide inside information on Kedon Slovis. Also notable is that Pitt's receivers are worse without Jordan Addison, and Pitt has downgraded at offensive coordinator with Whipple leaving and Cignetti arriving.
Why Pittsburgh Could Cover the Spread
West Virginia's offense might be better with J.T. Daniels, but there were a lot of problems with the Mountaineers' offnese in 2021. The whole group looked dreadfully bad in a bowl game loss to Minnesota. All those problems aren't magically solved by the arrival of one player. This offense is going to be a work in progress.
Meanwhile, Pitt won the ACC title last year. It beat Clemson and Wake Forest. This is a balanced team with a deep roster. It is better than West Virginia in spite of losing Jordan Addison to the transfer portal and Kenny Pickett to the NFL. Pitt's depth and quality will be important in a 60-minute game. WVU might play well for a half, but Pitt is a team built to play the full 60 minutes.
Final West Virginia-Pittsburgh Prediction & Pick
Pitt has changed in many ways, all of them bad. West Virginia will keep this close the whole way.
Final Prediction & Pick: West Virginia +7.5
