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November 16, 2006
Backyard Brawl
Mountaineers and Panthers clash in Big East battle
Rivalry week kicks off on Thursday with one of the better matchups as No. 8 West Virginia visits Pittsburgh for the annual Backyard Brawl. The Mountaineers rebounded nicely with a win over Cincinnati after losing two weeks ago to Louisville. They are still in the hunt of the Big East title as well as an at-large BCS berth. They face a Panther team that has dropped three in a row after becoming bowl-eligible back on October 13 with a win over Central Florida.
West Virginia remains deadly with an exceptional running game. They are ranked second in the country in rushing yards and top five in the nation in both total yards and points per game.
Pitt started the year out on a roll at 6-1, however a home loss to Rutgers put them in a tailspin they haven’t been able to shake. At 2-3 in the conference they need all the wins they can get to earn a respectable bowl bid. Senior quarterback Tyler Palko is still maintaining arguably his best season in college. He has thrown for 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing over 68 percent of his throws.
Conversely, the one-loss Mountaineers still love to run the ball and do so best with the duo of quarterback Pat White and tailback Steve Slaton. White has rushed for almost twice as many scores as he has thrown. Combined, the sophomore partnership has scored 27 rushing touchdowns while tallying over 2,000 yards on the ground.
West Virginia comes in averaging 40 points a game. They have hit that mark on six occasions this year and, since 2001, when they score 40 or more they are perfect at 20-0.
Last weekend against Connecticut, Pitt allowed 40 or more for the first time all year. Granted it took double overtime for the Huskies to do so, however Pitt’s funk has been more a result of the offense’s lack of scoring. Prior to its loss to UConn, the Panthers scored a total of 22 points in their two losses to Rutgers and South Florida.
West Virginia is listed at BetJamaica as 11-point road chalk, with the total sitting at 53. Kickoff is at 7:30 pm ET, with ESPN handling the coverage.
25035 - Copyright 2006, BetJamaica.com, The Player's Paradise
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