Odds Released for WVU’s Season Opener vs. Coastal Carolina

As expected, West Virginia is favored by a comfortable margin.

WVU Athletics Communications

The summer is moving along quickly, largely thanks to the baseball team making a run to the semifinals at the College World Series, significantly cutting into the dog days of the offseason. It's hard to believe that we are now just 78 days away from the season opener between West Virginia and Coastal Carolina, kicking off year two of Rich Rod 2.0 in Morgantown.

Recently, the odds for the opener against the Chanticleers became available, and as expected, WVU is a pretty comfortable favorite.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

West Virginia -17.5

WVU Athletics Communications

This seems about right, to be honest. I know the initial reaction is probably, "How is it not 20+?" The reality of the situation is that West Virginia is going to have to prove that this is far from the same group we all saw last year, who led Robert Morris 10-3 at halftime and lost to Ohio in Week 2. Not to mention, losing five Big 12 Conference games by multiple touchdowns.

You and I both know that the talent level on this year's roster is substantially better, as is the team's overall depth on both sides of the ball. Oddsmakers see that, yet also recognize the huge turnover of the roster, knowing things aren't going to be all sunshine and rainbows out of the gate. It's going to take a few weeks for things to gel, especially when you have a new quarterback, a new quartet of running backs, a revamped wide receiver group, and three new starters on the offensive line.

The Chants had a disappointing 6-7 campaign in 2025, which ultimately led to the firing of head coach Tim Beck. The new lead man, Ryan Beard, guided Missouri State to a 7-5 mark in their first-ever year as an FBS program, so I'm sure this is also some respect being shown to Beard, who can make an impact quickly.

Believe it or not, this will be the first time West Virginia has played a Group of Five opponent at home in the regular season since they hosted East Carolina in 2017, a game they won 56-20. It's only the second G5 opponent they've played since then, with the other coming last year in the previously mentioned game at Ohio. This is due to the long stretch of seasons where the Mountaineers played two Power Four opponents and an FCS school.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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