The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and West Virginia Mountaineers play on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia, in a game on the college football Week 1 schedule.
Which team will win the college football Week 1 game?
Check out these college football Week 1 picks and college football Week 1 predictions for the game, which can be seen at 9 a.m. MST on TNT (stream with Sling
).West Virginia is a 21.5-point favorite over Coastal Carolina in college football Week 1 odds for the game, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Mountaineers are -1600 on the moneyline, while the Chanticleers are +1050. The over/under (point total) for the game is set at 55.5 points.
Watch Coastal Carolina vs West Virginia on Sling
The Arizona Republic: West Virginia 35, Coastal Carolina 13
Jeremy
Cluff writes: "Rich Rodriguez's Mountaineers look to make a huge leap in 2026. They will take a big step with a rout of Coastal Carolina."
College Football News: West Virginia 47, Coastal Carolina 23
Pete Fiutak writes: "The Chanticleers will end up being better this season against the running game, but it won’t be this week. Last year, the team gave up more than 200 yards seven times and had a few total meltdowns. West Virginia will push for close to 300."
Dimers.com: West Virginia 38, Coastal Carolina 17
It writes: "After extensive simulations, our model gives Coastal Carolina a win probability of 9%, while West Virginia has a win probability of 91%."
ESPN: West Virginia has an 85.8% chance to defeat Coastal Carolina on Saturday
The site gives the Chanticleers a 14.2% shot at winning the college football Week 1 game.
Sports Betting Dime: West Virginia 25.6, Coastal Carolina 24.6
The site's formula predicts that the Mountaineers will beat the Chanticleers in the Week 1 college football game.
VSiN.com: Bet the under in West Virginia vs Coastal Carolina game
Tyler Shoemaker writes: "TSI projects 54 points in this game, and with 55 being the most key number in CFB totals, I love being on the other side of that with room to spare. On the field, I don’t expect much of a contribution from Coastal here against a much-improved WVU squad. The Chants are breaking in a new OC, Nick Petrino, who last year at Missouri State was 86th nationally in pace of play. Coastal also has a new head coach, Ryan Beard, who is 67% to the under in his career. The Bigelow (aka Coach Biggs) numbers I referenced earlier have Coastal as the third-worst offense in the Sun Belt this year, with WVU having a mid-tier Big 12 offense. This should be something like a 35-14 type win for the Mountaineers."
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: West Virginia vs Coastal Carolina picks, predictions, odds for Week 1
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