The Backyard Brawl returns to the gridiron this weekend, and it should be a close one between teams looking to play into the upper echelons of their respective conferences, as Pittsburgh welcomes West Virginia in college football’s Week 3 action on Saturday.

Sitting at 1-1 after losing to Penn State in the opener before routing Albany last week, the Mountaineers won 9 games a year ago to pull head coach Neal Brown off the proverbial hot seat and winning games like this is important when looking at the schedule in the weeks ahead.

Pittsburgh has the look of an improved team coming off last season’s 3-9 disaster, marching out to a 2-0 start, and comes into this weekend with a 62-41-3 lead over West Virginia in this series that dates back to 1895.

West Virginia has won four of the last five meetings with Pittsburgh, but the rivalry was split the last two seasons, with the Mountaineers winning last season and the Panthers the year before.

What can we expect from the matchup? Here’s what you should watch for as West Virginia and Pittsburgh renew their rivalry in this Week 3 college football game, with our updated prediction.

1. Going deep. West Virginia has the capacity to run the ball successfully, but Pittsburgh could be vulnerable on the back end. The secondary has allowed 5 passes of over 30 yards and is surrendering more than 7 yards per attempt. Garrett Greene leads a cadre of receivers who can get separation on these defenders and set the tone early.

2. On the ground. Pittsburgh looks strong when defending against the rush and has allowed opponents to average just 2.4 yards per rushing attempt so far. But the Mountaineers have a strong offensive line that can create opportunities for talented backs like CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White, not to mention Greene himself, an agile runner with the football.

3. Pitt’s new QB. Alabama transfer Eli Holstein has been a revelation for the Panthers through two games, helping lead an offensive renaissance that resulted in this attack more than doubling its scoring output from a year ago, averaging more than 41 points per game. He can find throwing lanes with a battery of skilled targets against a West Virginia secondary allowing almost 10 yards per attempt in the air.

Lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

West Virginia: -2.5 (-110)
Pittsburgh: +2.5 (-110)

WVU to win: -128
Pitt to win: +106

Over 61.5 points: -115
Under 61.5 points: -105

This close line correctly suggests the game to be very evenly matched. Pittsburgh has the run-stop and the passing attack to pull it out, but West Virginia has the ground game to eat clock and move the chains.

Home field advantage plays a role — Pitt won at home two years ago — but the difference maker could be Pitt tailback Desmond Reid.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pounder leads college football with 244 all-purpose yards per game this season, is coming off a 254-yard effort against Cincinnati, and could be a matchup problem for the Mountaineers.

His consistent gains against a vulnerable West Virginia run-stop combined with Holstein and his receivers exploiting some center field gaps could prove to be the difference.

College Football HQ picks …

More … West Virginia vs. Pitt score prediction by expert football model

When: Sat., Sept. 14
Time: 3:30 p.m. Eastern
TV: ESPN2 network

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At Crockett’s Lodge in Star City, West Virginia, just outside Morgantown, I experienced something I have never encountered before, 12 of the 15 people I spoke to aren’t voting. They have very interesting opinions about the state of modern politics, but they don’t think their vote matters. 

As soon as I walked in, I knew I had dressed inappropriately. I had on a smart button down and a pair of Lucky slacks I’d purchased from the local TJ Maxx, when I should have worn my old beat up 2005 Troy Vincent Eagles jersey.

Side eyes aside, the first guy I talked to was named Rock, “they’re all criminals on both sides,” he told me, “So what’s the difference?”

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I glanced up at the attractive bartender in her early 30s and said, “Do you vote?”

“No,” she said,” what’s the point?”

A few minutes later I saw a guy walk in with an American flag T-shirt reading, “I’m a patriot.”

I said, “Hey, I saw your shirt.” I explained that I go around hassling people about their politics for Fox, and he was game. He loves Harris, he’s all in. He told me, “I pray every night that Trump doesn’t win, that disrespectful son of a b**ch.”

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Micaheal told me he had spent 30 years in the gas industry and he believes that Harris has turned a new leaf on fracking. 

As I tried to dig down on that, his wife arrived back from the restroom and just shut it down. “I’m not an idiot,” I said. “Thank you and have a great night.”

The next people I spoke to were Mike and Zach, both in their mid-twenties. Mike votes, Zach doesn’t. I said, “Zach, why don’t you vote?”

“It makes no difference, I live in West Virginia, Trump will win, so what does it matter?”

I said “who would you vote for?”

And this freakin’ guy, like he’s on cable news, says, “Well, who would you vote for given how life was between 2016 and 2020 compared to now?”

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I said, “You’re making a stronger argument for Trump than your MAGA buddy here.”

I asked them if I could buy them a shot of Irish whiskey as I was bending their ear. They asked for Lemon Drops, whatever that is, and I told them, in frankness, that this could be part of the problem.

It just didn’t stop, no matter which way they leaned. I kept hearing, “what’s the point of voting?”

One of these guys, Joe, who had a bucket of Natty Ice cans, said he would vote for Harris, if he voted, because he is poor and she would give him money.

I asked him if he thought that she might also make things more expensive.

He said he didn’t know, but that he thought she would give him more.

Believe me, when I tell you that I am not disparaging anything about the wonderful Crockett’s Lodge or the voters, or mostly not voters, I met there. Ten out of ten recommend it. But I do wonder if either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump can move these people.

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They feel forgotten and left behind. Rock told me, “I just want to smoke weed on my porch in peace.”

The last two people I talked to were Chris and Nicole, who are expecting their first child in a few months. Both are Trump supporters, both watched the debate and thought Harris did fine, but said, “It’s still just so hard to live and pay for it.”

I envied them in a way. They are about to have a newborn who loves them and hangs on them. I have a 14-year-old son who loves me but regularly roasts me and his mom in ways that would make Don Rickles blush, but it’s good.

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I never like hearing that people aren’t voting, and yeah, maybe in Morgantown, West Virginia it won’t affect the final outcome, but 50 miles in Pennsylvania it will, are these people really so different?

If there is a candidate who can motivate the cats I met in Morgantown. It’ll be a landslide on November 5. But so far, they are not impressed.

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Three people were killed and two others were injured in a crash on Interstate 70 in West Virginia on Thursday night.

NBC affiliate WTOV reports a car crossed over the median into a tractor-trailer near mile marker 8.5 in the Triadelphia area.

The crash, which happened around 9:30 p.m., was deemed a mass casualty incident. Shortly after 11 p.m., three deaths were confirmed.

Two other people were taken to Wheeling Hospital after the crash.

As of 11:25 p.m. Thursday, the road remains closed.

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