One of the nation’s oldest rivalries will be renewed on Saturday afternoon when the Pittsburgh Panthers (2-0) travel 75 miles south to face the West Virginia Mountaineers (1-1) in Milan Puskar Stadium.
The Panthers enter this contest with aspirations of making the ACC championship game. Pitt opened their 2025 season with wins over Duquesne (61-9) and Central Michigan (45-17) before entering ACC play.
West Virginia is on a curvy country road in Rich Rodriguez’s second stint as head football coach. After easily defeating an FCS team to open the season, the Mountaineers suffered season-ending injuries to their top running back in a 17-10 loss to Ohio University last week.
In this 108th edition of the “Backyard Brawl,” will the Mountaineers or Panthers emerge victorious? We’ll cover that and provide bettors with our top three player props from this contest.
This isn’t the Panthers teams your grandfather grew up watching. Pitt is a pass-first offense, and quarterback Eli Holstein is a strong fit for the Panthers. Through two games, he’s amassed 519 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions.
After an abbreviated performance against Duquesne, Holstein showed out for the team’s matchup with Central Michigan. He finished the contest 21-for-28 with 304 yards and four touchdowns.
Can he replicate that performance against WVU? The answer is no. The Mountaineers picked off three passes against Ohio on Saturday, and opponents have looked confused by WVU’s disguises under new coordinator Zac Alley. Bet the under on this prop wager.
With running back Jahiem White out for the season, WVU will likely lean on the passing game. That means that sophomore wide receiver Cam Vaughn could become a bigger part of the team’s offensive game plan.
Through two games, he’s nabbed nine receptions for 170 yards and one touchdown. The former Jacksonville State athlete – who followed Rodriguez to WVU – had most of that production against Robert Morris, catching seven passes for 127 yards and one score. Against Pitt, expect him to see his fair share of targets, but he will likely fail to cover this player prop bet.
Holstein has a stable of running backs to feed in Pitt’s offense. The primary rusher is Desmond Reid, and he’s notched 18 carries for 112 yards and one score this season. Behind him are freshmen Ja’Kyrian Turner and Juelz Goff, a pair of backs with 19 carries for 73 yards and three touchdowns thus far.
As stated before, Pitt is a pass-first offense. The Panthers’ backfield finished with 124 rushing yards against Central Michigan, averaging under five yards per carry.
But the Panthers had a safe lead throughout much of the game. With Turner and Goff stealing opportunities in this closer-than-expected contest, bettors should take the under on this rushing prop.
All signs point to a Pitt victory on Saturday, but that’s not the safest bet. Rodriguez was the head coach when the Panthers ended WVU’s opportunity to make the national championship game in 2007, and you can be certain revenge is on his mind. A 7.5-point spread is too much, given the amount of bad blood between the two schools.
Instead, the best bet is that this will be a defensive battle on Saturday. WVU has allowed only 20 points through two games, and Pitt has yielded 26 points. Expect the Mountaineers’ offense to struggle and defense to shine in this contest, keeping the final combined score under 57 points.