Betting Lines Move to Favor Mountaineers in Backyard Brawl

The national oddsmakers were split when the first Backyard Brawl odds earlier this week, but as game day has arrived, West Virginia is now expected to come away with a win.

WVU is now set as nearly a field goal favorite over Pitt tonight — with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. under the lights at Milan Puskar Stadium.

DraftKings has moved the line to hold WVU as 2.5-point favorites, with bets for either side to cover holding -110 odds. The over/under is set at 47.5 points, with either option holding -110 odds. A bet on Pitt to win outright holds +114 odds.

FanDuel continues to hold WVU as a 2.5-point favorite (with -104 odds for Pitt to cover, and -118 odds for WVU to cover), and like DraftKings, sets the over/under at 47.5 points. Both bets currently hold -110 odds. A bet on Pitt to win outright holds +126 odds.

Both West Virginia and Pitt are entering the week at 1-1, with wins over FCS opponents, and neither side has looked particularly effective this season.

West Virginia lost a Week 1 matchup against Penn State in Happy Valley, falling apart in the fourth quarter against the Nittany Lions, before rebounding with a 56-17 win over Duquesne over the weekend.

Pitt had a lot of questions to answer heading into the Backyard Brawl today after a lackluster showing against Cincinnati last weekend, and there wasn’t a lot of time to answer those questions this week in practice. But Pitt is certainly excited to travel down to Morgantown.

There will be a lot on the line for both Pitt and West Virginia this weekend, and it should be a wild night in Morgantown. After all, it is the first Backyard Brawl in Morgantown since the 2011 season.