Big East Football Previews – Pittsburgh Panthers vs West Virginia Mountaineers
The annual Backyard Brawl will be renewed this Friday night in Morgantown when the Pittsburgh Panthers cross state lines to tangle with the West Virginia Mountaineers in this classic rivalry. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Date/Time: Friday, November 25 7 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Mountaineers Field, Morgantown, W.VA.
Broadcast: ESPN
Panthers at Mountaineers lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Mountaineers -7.5
Over/Under: OFF
Pittsburgh’s season has gone nowhere near as planned with a 5-5 record both straight-up and against the spread. It comes into this game off a bye after squeaking past Louisville 21-14 its last time out as a three-point road underdog. The total has stayed ‘under’ in six of its 10 games this season.
The Panthers’ problems this year lie in an ineffective offense that is ranked 70th in the nation in scoring with an average of just 25.6 points a game. Their defense has been able to keep them in most of their games by holding its opponents to an average of 22.8 points a game.
West Virginia is also coming off a bye after beating Cincinnati 24-21 on Nov. 12 as a three-point road underdog. While its overall record at 7-3 SU (5-5 ATS) it somewhat better, this would have to be classified as a disappointing season as well, considering the preseason aspirations for this team. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Mountaineers still have an offense that can move the ball downfield through the air and put points on the board, but they also have a defense that has had trouble getting off the field this season. This has resulted in a number of high-scoring games that have gone ‘over’ the total eight times this year.
Pittsburgh is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games overall, but just 1-3-2 ATS in its last six games on the road. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of its last seven games as a road underdog.
West Virginia is 6-2-1 ATS in its last nine games in the Big East, but just 2-5-1 ATS in its last eight home games. The total has gone ‘over’ in its last five games at home.
Head-to-head in this rivalry, the Mountaineers are 4-2 both SU and ATS overall and 3-1 SU and ATS in the last four games at home. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of the last four meetings. Stick with West Virginia to continue its recent success at Mountaineer Field with a win that covers the 7.5 points.
The Pick- West Virginia 27 vs. Pittsburgh 17
