Greg McElroy reveals his prediction for 'Backyard Brawl' between Pittsburgh, West Virginia

The 108th ‘Backyard Brawl’ between Pittsburgh and West Virginia will be played this weekend in Morgantown. The Panthers opened the season with a 61-9 drumming of Duquesne and a 45-17 win over Central Michigan, while West Virginia (in the first season of Rich Rodriguez‘s second stint with the program) opened with a 45-3 win over Robert Morris but fell to Ohio 17-10 last weekend.

The rivalry between these two programs is almost always talked about as one of the best in all of college football. The Panthers won last year’s meeting 38-34 thanks to a game-winning touchdown run by Derrick Davis Jr. with 32 seconds remaining. They have won six out of the last 10 meetings against the Mountaineers.

Ahead of the big game, ESPN‘s Greg McElroy made his prediction via the “Always College Football‘ podcast. McElroy is all in on Pittsburgh taking down West Virginia once again in the latest edition of the ‘Backyard Brawl.’

McElroy applauds Pittsburgh’s defense

“A hallmark of Pat Narduzzi‘s system is built around one very simple philosophy: you will not run the ball,” McElroy said. “Stop the run at all costs. Through two games, the Panthers have the top ranked rushing defense in the ACC (allowing less than 40 yards per game). They have compiled a remarkable 40-14 record when holding the opponent under 100 yard rushing. The heart of this defense is Kyle Louis at linebacker and he’s super disruptive. Very distinctive. 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks this season already.

“Got a lot of negative plays and he’s always playing in the opponent’s backfield. The entire game plan kind of revolves around him being free and making plays. They’ll have to be great on first down. If you can stuff West Virginia‘s running game on first down, it’ll force the Mountaineers into third and long situations where that super aggressive pass-rush for Pitt can take over.”

Through just two games this season, Pittsburgh is averaging 462 yards per game (6th best in ACC) while allowing just 212.5 yards per game (2nd best in ACC). The Panthers seemingly have a good offense with a high-powered defense.

McElroy picks Pittsburgh to down West Virginia

“West Virginia‘s offensive line wasn’t good last week,” said McElroy. “Couldn’t generate a consistent push and the braintrust I think is gonna have to get very creative with jet sweeps, quarterback draws, screens and misdirections to generate some positive yards. It may be smoke and mirrors, but that’s okay. That can be helpful in a game like this.

“The pick for me is the Pitt Panthers. I just don’t know how West Virginia is going to be able to move the football. Right now, I know what I’m getting with Pitt‘s offense and I know what I’m getting from that front seven defensively from Pitt. I think it’ll be really hard for West Virginia to manufacture yardage without a trick play or big play or two created.”

Kick-off between the Panthers and Mountaineers on Saturday is scheduled for 3:30 PM on ESPN.