The 2023 Backyard Brawl will take place on Saturday night when the West Virginia Mountaineers host the Pittsburgh Panthers. West Virginia struggled in a 38-15 loss at No. 7 Penn State to open the season, but it bounced back with a 56-17 win over Duquesne last week. Pittsburgh blew out Wofford in its opener before getting upset by Cincinnati in Week 2. The Panthers notched a 38-31 victory when these teams met last year, but the Mountaineers covered the 7.5-point spread.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. WVU is favored by 1.5 points in the latest West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh odds, while the over/under is set at 47 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia picks, you'll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a stunning profit of nearly $2,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Pittsburgh-West Virginia. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college football betting lines for the game:
- West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh spread: West Virginia -1.5
- West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh over/under: 47 points
- West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh money line: West Virginia: -118, Pittsburgh: -102
- West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh picks: See picks here
Why West Virginia can cover
West Virginia got its offense going last week, pouring in 56 points and covering the 38.5-point spread against Duquesne. Redshirt freshman Hudson Clement had 177 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his college debut, replacing Devin Carter, who was a late scratch. Junior quarterback Garrett Greene threw a career-high four touchdown passes, finishing with 240 passing yards on just 18 attempts.
The rushing attack is led by sophomore CJ Donaldson Jr., who has rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown through the first two games of the season. He is facing a Pittsburgh defense that allowed 216 rushing yards in the loss to Cincinnati last week, with the Bearcats averaging 5.1 yards per carry. West Virginia has won nine straight Week 3 games, and it has won four of its last five home games against Pittsburgh.
Why Pittsburgh can cover
Pittsburgh was ultimately unable to erase a 27-7 deficit against Cincinnati, but it scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to generate some momentum. The Panthers breezed past Wofford in their season opener, racking up 491 yards and 45 points. They averaged 4.8 yards per carry, with senior running back Daniel Carter finishing with 65 yards and a touchdown.
West Virginia did not look good against the lone quality opponent that it has faced, failing to cover the 21-point spread in its loss to Penn State. The Mountaineers have only covered the spread in three of their last nine games played on a Saturday. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has covered in nine of its last 11 road games and five of its last seven games overall. See which team to pick here.
How to make West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh picks
The model has simulated Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it also says one side of the spread is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia spread to jump on, all from the advanced computer model that's up nearly $2,500 on its top-rated college football spread picks since its inception, and find out.
