The Virginia Cavaliers and West Virginia Mountaineers will meet on Saturday night in a fun, non-conference border battle. This “battle of the Virginias” will be played at a neutral-site venue under the lights in…checks notes…Charlotte, North Carolina, for whatever reason, and the Cavaliers are laying double digits at the time of writing.
UVA destroyed NC State in Week 0, 34-8, while they outgained the Wolfpack 413-168. They followed that performance up with a bye week and then a dominant win over FCS Norfolk State, so they should be fresh and ready to go for this one. West Virginia, meanwhile, struggled to put Coastal Carolina away in Week 1, as quarterback Deuce Bailey threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns on 21 completions.
This game comes down to which team runs the ball more effectively and better sustains drives. At first glance, getting double digits with WVU feels generous given the presence of Cam Cook, but the more I assess this matchup, the less confident I am in the Mountaineer offense sustaining drives against John Rudzinski’s defense – a unit that held NC State to 3.2 yards per carry and NFL-caliber quarterback in CJ Bailey to 3.4 yards per pass. I question just how balanced this WVU offense can be with Michael Hawkins Jr. under center, as he hasn’t been much of a passer in his collegiate career. Not that Beau Pribula has proven to be much better to this point, but that Week 0 performance against NC State was efficient and poised. Not to mention, UVA has the better offensive line, which is going to make a huge difference in a game that is going to be played between the hashes a decent bit.
Though it’s just a one-game sample size, WVU’s defense didn’t exactly look reliable in the second half against Coastal, while Virginia dominated a fellow ACC rival in a game that was seemingly over before it started -- holding the Wolfpack to just 3.2 yards per play. Ultimately, I think this spread is the way it is for a reason, so I’m going to lean to laying the points with UVA in the home of the Carolina Panthers.
West Virginia vs Virginia prediction: Virginia Cavaliers -10 (-115) at the time of publishing. Playable to -11.
