West Virginia vs Pittsburgh Prediction, Preview, & Odds – 9/14/2024

The West Virginia Mountaineers will clash with the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Backyard Brawl on September 14, 2024, at 3:30 pm ET. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Mountaineers are favored by three points. Early betting trends show that 77% of spread bets are on West Virginia, while 23% favor Pittsburgh. The total of 60.5 has seen 63% of bets on the under and 37% on the over. Don't miss this exciting matchup between these two fierce rivals and keep reading for our preview of this West Virginia vs Pitt matchup.

West Virginia Looks to Jump Start Season Against Rivals

The West Virginia Mountaineers have split their first two games of the college football season. They lost to Penn State in their season opener by 22 points before putting a hurting on FCS UAlbany in Week 2. This week, they face one of their most hated rivals in the Backyard Brawl, with the Mountaineers looking for their first FBS win of the season in this West Virginia vs Pitt contest from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

West Virginia's offense woke up in Week 2 against the UAlbany Great Danes, as the Mountaineers put up 49 points against the FCS semifinalists from a season ago. But there is a huge difference between putting up points against UAlbany and doing it against a school like Pitt. After the struggles of the West Virginia offense against Penn State two games ago, there are understandably questions about how the Mountaineers will perform on that side of the ball in this rivalry game.

Pitt Looking For 3-0 Start In Backyard Brawl

The Pitt Panthers are 2-0 heading into Saturday's West Virginia vs Pitt matchup. Pitt blew out Kent State in their season opener before escaping Cincinnati with a one-point win over the Bearcats. Here, the Panthers will look for a better start than they had a week ago as they look to move to 3-0 and secure a win over their fierce rivals with whom they used to share the Big East.

Last week against Cincinnati, Pitt trailed 27-6 late in the third quarter. They proceeded to score the final 22 points of the game, with three unanswered touchdowns and a field goal to secure the victory. Whether Pitt can build on that second half performance against Cincinnati remains to be seen, but they certainly need to get off to a better start this week if they want to avoid having to climb out of another huge hole.

West Virginia vs Pitt Best Bet

The atmosphere for this game is going to be electric as it is one of the few times that there is genuine enthusiasm for the college team in Pittsburgh. We will take Pitt to win the Backyard Brawl at home, as their home-field advantage and the offensive woes of West Virginia against quality competition are two things that we can't ignore.

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