Pitt at West Virginia: Game Info, Odds, Three Storylines

The Pitt Panthers will renew their rivalry with West Virginia for the 106th time.

PITTSBURGH -- For the first time in 12 years, the Pitt Panthers will hit the road to take on their hated rivals to the south. 

Pitt and West Virginia will renew the Backyard Brawl for the 106th time under the lights at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. The Panthers will try to bounce back from a tough loss to Cincinnati and make it a two-game winning streak against the Mountaineers. 

Game Info
Opponent: West Virginia (1-1 overall, 0-0 Big 12)
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Location: Milan Puskar Stadium; Morgantown, West Virginia
Broadcast: ABC and 93.7 The Fan

Odds
The Panthers are consensus 2.5-point underdogs, according to Action Network, with some sportsbooks extending the spread to as large as three points. The consensus point total line has decreased by three points to 47.5 and West Virginia is favored at -148 on the moneyline compared to +148 for Pitt. 

Three Storylines

Jurkovec Eyes A Bounce Back
From his rocky play on the field to his strong condemnation for booing fans in the postgame press conferences, last week was one of the roughest of Phil Jurkovec's career.  

The good news for him and the rest of the Pitt offense is that they are facing a West Virginia secondary that ranks 119th nationally in passing yards allowed, 117th in completion percentage allowed, 124th in first downs allowed via the pass, 129th in average opponent passer rating and is tied for 133rd in passing touchdowns allowed per game. Opportunities for big plays in the passing game out there for the taking. 

Teammates and coaches have praised how he's stayed even-keeled and continued to lead the Panthers and he'll need to keep that same composure 

Off To The Races
Pitt didn't score on either of its first drives in Weeks 1 and 2. It didn't matter against Wofford but it did against Cincinnati, who took a 10-0 stranglehold on the game before the first quarter was over. 

The Panthers can't afford to fall too far behind West Virginia, who will have a raucous home crowd at their backs and a strong running game that, just like Cincinnati, can take control of a game quickly. This game could get out of hand in a hurry if Pitt doesn't come out swinging.

Born To Run
It could be a long night for starting tailback Rodney Hammond if Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi gets his way. 

"I’d like to hand the ball off 50 times," Narduzzi said. "And if it goes 50 times, he’s going to have 25 carries and he’ll be exhausted after the night’s over."

Pitt was never able to get the run game going against Cincinnati and with Jurkovec coming off a poor game, the coaching staff is hoping to lean more on the ground game than they have through two weeks of the season. Look for the Panthers to run early, often and with a top tailback emerging. 

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