After an 11-year absence, the Backyard Brawl has returned.

Pitt and West Virginia will kickoff shortly after 7 p.m. ET on Thursday night, marking the return of one of college football’s best rivalry games.

ESPN’s College GameDay was on location at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday night and all 4 analysts picked Pittsburgh to win the game. Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Kirk Herbstreit and, of course, Lee Corso are backing the Panthers.

Pittsburgh is a consensus 7.5-point favorite in this game. It’s the first meeting between these programs since 2011 when both teams were in the Big East.

There are longstanding several connections between these two programs beyond the rivalry. Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis and WVU quarterback JT Daniels were teammates at USC in 2019. WVU offensive coordinator Graham Harrell coaches Slovis at USC last season.

Pitt is 61-40 all-time against West Virginia. However, the Mountaineers have won 3 straight meetings in this series.