The West Virginia Mountaineers battle the No. 17 Pittsburgh Panthers in the 105th renewal of the Backyard Brawl in a Week 1 matchup on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. It will be the first time in 11 years the teams will meet. Pittsburgh is favored by eight points at Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 51 (see up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college football odds page). 

Before making any West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh picks, you NEED to check out the college football predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past six-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It enters Week 1 of the 2022 college football season on a 45-32 run on all top-rated college football spread and money-line picks that dates back to 2021. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

The model knows the Panthers' offense, which averaged over 40 points per game last season, got a boost from the transfer portal. With Kenny Pickett graduating, Pitt had a big hole to fill at quarterback. Senior Kedon Slovis fills that role after transferring from USC and has been named the Panthers' starter against the Mountaineers. In three seasons at Southern California, he played in 27 games, making 26 starts. In that stretch, he completed 652 of 953 passes (68 percent) for 7,576 yards and 58 touchdowns with 24 interceptions. As a freshman in 2019, Slovis threw for 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns with nine interceptions, completing 282 of 392 passes (72 percent).

The model also knows Junior J.T. Daniels, a transfer from Georgia, will make the start at quarterback for West Virginia. Daniels registered a 7-0 record as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. He was Georgia's second-leading passer last season, completing 68 of 94 attempts for 722 yards and seven touchdowns. Daniels completed 22 of 30 passes for 135 yards in the season-opening win over No. 3 Clemson, but missed time due to injury and ultimately lost his starting job.

Now, it has set its sights on West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh. We can tell you the model is leaning Under the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any college football picks.

So who wins West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh? And which side of the spread hits in well over 50% of the time? Join SportsLine now to find out, all from the model that has crushed its top-rated college football picks against the spread!