West Virginia Mountaineers vs Pittsburgh Panthers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/01/2022

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, September 1, 2022

Venue:  Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA 

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  WVU +7, Pittsburgh -7; Over/Under:  51 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  WVU +7, Pittsburgh -7; Over/Under:  51 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  WVU +7, Pittsburgh -7; Over/Under:  51.5 points

 

West Virginia Mountaineers:  0-0 (Big 12)

Pittsburgh Panthers:  0-0 (ACC Coastal)

 

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West Virginia Mountaineers:  N/A

Pittsburgh Panthers:  N/A

 

WVU is playing their season opener here on Thursday and this will also be their first road game of the college football season. They finished last season with a 6-7 record overall and were 2-4 in their road games. They were also 4-5 in their conference games and finished 6th place in the Big 12. They ended their season with an 18-6 loss against Minnesota in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Their offense was averaging 371.1 YPG and 25.2 PPG while their defense was allowing 350.6 YPG and 23.8 PPG against them. Jarret Doege led the team in passing with 3,048 passing yards, Leddie Brown led the team in rushing with 1,065 rushing yards, and Winston Wright led the team in receiving with 688 receiving yards. 

 

 

 

Pittsburgh is playing their season opener here on Thursday and this will also be their first home game on the college football schedule this season. They finished last season with a 11-3 record overall and were 5-2 in their home games. They were also 7-1 with their conference record and finished in 1st place in the ACC Coastal. They ended their season off with a 31-21 loss against Michigan State in the Peach Bowl. Their offense was averaging 489.4 YPG and 41.4 PPG while their defense was allowing 353 YPG and 23.6 PPG against them. Kenny Pickett led the team in passing with 4,319 passing yards, Israel Abanikanda led the team in rushing with 651 rushing yards, and Jordan Addison led the team in receiving with 1,593 receiving yards. 

The current betting odds have WVU listed as a 7 point underdog here according to Draftkings Sportsbook. West Virginia did not have a great season last year as they barely finished with a .500 record, just slipping into a Bowl game, but they have been trending in the right direction the last few years under their coach Neal Brown. Their offense definitely has not been as good as it used to be before he got there but, the defense has been much better in the last 2 seasons and this is not the same Pittsburgh team that had such a great season last year. Pittsburgh just had a great year with an 11-3 season finishing as one of the best teams in their conference but, they have also lost a lot of their talent from last year as well. Their star QB from last season, Kenny Pickett, has been drafted into the NFL and their star WR Jordan Addison is no longer there either as he left in the transfer portal. Pittsburgh has always been a great team defensively under Narduzzi for years now but their offense has never really been great except for last season, and last season is definitely the exception of all the years he has been there. This offense just isn't the same as it was last season and with this being such a heated rivalry, WVU is going to give all they have here. The best way to place a bet here is on WVU to cover the spread or on the under as this will be a more defensive game that stays close in score.

 

West Virginia Pittsburgh Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Thursday, September 1, 2022 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Pittsburgh 21 WVU 17.

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West Virginia Mountaineers: 24-34 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points. 12-25 ATS against ACC opponents. 15-9 OVER as a road underdog of 7 points or less.

Pittsburgh Panthers: 13-6 ATS as a favorite. 6-1 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 16-9 OVER in all games.

 

 

West Virginia Mountaineers:  M. O'Laughlin (TE) Ques Thurs - Knee.

Pittsburgh Panthers:  None.

 

 

"I'm not really going to announce anything today. I'm not trying to be coy about it. I'll announce the starter before the game. There's not been a final decision. I feel good about our present and future." - Neal Brown on his starting QB before their season opener.

 

 

“You know, that's in the past and nobody cares what happened last year. They really don't. Nobody in this room is going to care, coaches, staff, or media. ... It's a different team than the 2021 team, and I think our kids got a good mindset about what that means and what they have to do to be something different than what 2021 was.” - Pat Narduzzi before his team’s season opener on Thursday.

 

 

 

WR Ford-Wheaton, Bryce

WR Prather, Kaden

WR James, Sam 

WR Smith, Reese 

TE Polendey, Brian 

QB Daniels, JT

RB Mathis Jr., Tony 

 

WR Wayne, Jared

WR Bradley, Jaden

WR Mumpfield, Konata 

TE Bartholomew, Gavin

QB Slovis, Kedon

RB Abanikanda, Israel 

 

 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

 

Coaches:

West Virginia Mountaineers: Neal Brown (4th season)

Pittsburgh Panthers: Pat Narduzzi (8th season)