The Backyard Brawl returns on Saturday when the West Virginia Mountaineers face the Pitt Panthers. The teams have matched up 106 times in the rivalry's history, with Pitt winning 62 times. West Virginia took the victory in a defensive affair last season, grabbing a 17-6 win. The Mountaineers enter this game with a 1-1 record, while the Panthers are 2-0. It is time to continue our college football odds series with a West Virginia-Pitt prediction and pick.
West Virginia has to feel good heading into this game. Garrett Greene is the Mountaineers' biggest weapon against a struggling Pitt secondary, and West Virginia still won this matchup last season after Green got hurt early in the game. West Virginia bounced back against Albany last week, winning 49-14 in a stellar performance from Greene. He threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, while CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White had over 100 yards each and a touchdown.
Pitt had an exciting comeback victory last week, erasing a 21-point deficit to beat Cincinnati. The Bearcats took a 27-6 victory after a Carter Brown field goal, but the Panthers rallied off three touchdowns and a field goal to steal the victory. Eli Holstein threw for all three touchdowns while Ben Sauls drilled the winning field goal. Cincinnati's coach, Scott Satterfield, was unhappy with the officiating and believed that contributed to the loss. They also missed a chip-shot field goal at the end of the first half, which would've been the difference in them losing.
Here are the College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: West Virginia-Pitt Odds
West Virginia: -1.5 (-115)
Moneyline: -126
Pitt: +1.5 (-105)
Moneyline: +105
Over: 63.5 (-110)
Under: 63.5 (-110)
How to Watch West Virginia vs. Pitt
Time: 3:30 PM ET/12:30 PM PT
TV: ESPN2
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why West Virginia Could Cover The Spread/Win
West Virginia has many reasons they could dominate Pitt even more in this year's matchup. The obvious is that Greene will play for the entire game, barring another injury. Another is that Jahiem White didn't play in the Pitt game last year. Pitt held West Virginia to three yards per carry, but their rushing defense has regressed, and White is one of the most explosive running backs in the nation.
West Virginia has been struggling to keep the top on their defense this season, allowing Penn State and even Albany to complete some explosive passing plays. However, Pitt's strength is their rushing attack, and the Mountaineers did well at stopping it in 2023. The Panthers had just 3.6 yards per carry.
Why Pitt Could Cover The Spread/Win
The Mountaineers allowed eight completions of at least 19 yards last week against Albany. Dontez Fagan was a weak link, grabbing two pass interference penalties on the same drive, which led to an Albany touchdown. If Fagan couldn't handle Albany's weapons, he could have trouble against Pitt's. It was the second straight week where West Virginia was getting beat with deep shots after Drew Allar had three receivers with 20+ yards per reception in Week 1.
Final West Virginia-Pitt Prediction & Pick
All signs are pointing to West Virginia dominating in this game. It's hard to understand why they are just 2.5-point favorites, as Pitt doesn't have a massive home-field advantage. West Virginia won by nine points last season without their starting quarterback and running back, and Pitt isn't as good as they were last season despite the record.
Final West Virginia-Pitt Prediction & Pick: West Virginia -1.5 (-115)
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