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Pittsburgh at West Virginia Football Betting Lines


Written November 26, 2009 by Rock Henderson

The 102nd edition of the “Backyard Brawl” takes places in West Virginia this Friday when the #9 Pitt Panthers clash with the Mountaineers. This annual game is one of the most heated rivalries in the nation and never fails to disappoint in the drama department as Pitt has won the last two meetings by a combined eight points. The Panthers have a lot riding on this game as they are trying to keep pace with Cincinnati for a BCS bowl berth as the Big East champion. Nothing would make the West Virginia faithful happier than to spoil their backyard neighbor’s title hopes. Looking at our latest college football lines for Friday Pitt is a 1 point favorite on the road.

Head coach Dave Wannstedt has finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together in his fifth season at Pitt. Having a veteran quarterback and finding a diamond in the rough in freshman running Dion Lewis has put the Panthers over the top this season. QB Bill Stull has come a long way as a senior after throwing more interceptions than touchdowns in his junior campaign. He has thrown for over 2,000 yards this season and 18 touchdowns against just four interceptions. Stull has been a major reason for the top ten ranking his team has played itself into. Dion Lewis is a completely different story. Pitt was the only major program to recruit the 5-8 195 back and it has definitely paid dividends. Lewis has rushed for 1291 yards and 13 scores while averaging almost 6 ypc. The Panther program will benefit from having this young superstar around for at least the next two years. WR Jonathan Baldwin has prototypical size and has caught 40 balls for 840 yards and five scores as a sophomore. TE Dorin Dickson is one of the best at his position in the nation and leads the team in catches with 43 and a team high 10 touchdown receptions. The future is very bright for Pitt, but Wannstedt has the team thinking that their time is now.  Get serious about betting college football with a $100 match bonus at Bodog.

While West Virginia might be outclassed on paper compared to Pitt, don’t think there are quite a few factors playing into a possible upset in this game. The Mountaineers have had a full two weeks to prepare for the Panthers. They have a quarterback in Jarrett Brown that brings a dual threat to the table. Throw in the fact that Pitt destroyed West Virginia’s national title shot the last time these two played in Morgantown as a 29 point underdog and there is a lot of added fuel to the fire. Brown has developed into a very good quarterback after sitting behind Pat White for three years. He has thrown for over 1800 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 366 yards and five more scores. RB Noel Devine has the ability to break open a game at any point when he carries the ball. The junior back has rushed for 1,098 yards and 10 scores, but has struggled to get anything going on the ground in his last three outings. If the Mountaineers want to have any chance of pulling the upset they will have to get a great performance out of a suspect defense that is capable of giving up big plays.

Rivalries games are hard to break down points wise. Pitt has played the more consistent football throughout the season and they have a lot more riding on this game than West Virginia, but Vegas sees them as less than a field goal favorite. I listed earlier all the factors that play into the line being set this low and making the Mountaineers a no-brainer play for the Rock. Play: West Virginia +2

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