NCAAF Week 13 - Pittsburgh Panthers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

BetUS.com customers are privy to yet another online college football betting rivalry on Friday night when the Pittsburgh Panthers (9-1, 6-3 ATS) invade Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers (7-3, 3-6 ATS) in the Backyard Brawl. The Panthers will put their Top-10 ranking on the line in the prequel to the de facto Big East Championship Game against Cincinnati next week.

Though this game doesn't quite mean as much as next week's game does, Pitt may have a chance to go to the BCS with a victory against WVU and a good showing in a potential loss to the Bearcats. West Virginia is playing for bowl positioning, and may be able to wrap up a spot in the Gator Bowl with a 'W' against its rivals.

BetUS oddsmakers have placed the college football point spread at a pick 'em, with a 'total' posted at 48.5.

My, what could've been had the Panthers not tripped up against NC State at the end of September! Since that loss however, Pitt has been unstoppable. HC Dave Wannstedt's club is a perfect 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS in conference play, with the most recent victory in the Big East coming in the form of a 37-10 victory at home against Syracuse. RB Dion Lewis has had himself a heck of a freshman season, running for 1,291 yards and 13 touchdowns. He paces the 29th ranked rushing offense in the country. Pittsburgh has scored at least 24 points in all of its games this season, which should put pressure on a WVU defense that has had a very inconsistent year. The Panthers are averaging 33.8 points per game, good enough for #16 in the NCAAs.

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This hasn't quite been the season the Mountaineers probably hoped for, especially of late. WVU has dropped two of its L/3 in crushing form, losing 24-21 in Cincinnati and 30-19 at USF; with a 17-9 'W' against Louisville crammed in the middle. Football betting has been virtually impossible for the hosts in Morgantown. The 'Neers haven't covered a spread at home since the first FBS home game of the season against East Carolina, and they haven't covered a Big East game at home since the end of the 2007 season (0-7). RB Noel Devine and QB Jarrett Brown should be able to put points on the board in bunches, but since scoring at least 30 points in its first five games, West Virginia has only averaged 21.8 points per game since.

The Backyard Brawl is a rivalry that has tendencies of pulling some surprises. Two years ago, Pitt ruined the Mountaineers National Championship hopes with a 13-9 victory in Morgantown. The Panthers have pulled off back-to-back upsets as underdogs over the L/2 seasons against their arch rivals, and it's hard to see how that isn't happening again on Friday night. With the national spotlight shining, look for the Panthers to come out and methodically take out their rivals and make a great case to go BCS bowling. WVU just hasn't been consistent enough at home since that '07 loss at home to Pitt to make it worth backing in this spot.

Rose's Recommendation: 2* Pittsburgh Panthers
Rating Scale 1* - 5*