Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-6.5) at Pittsburgh Panthers, Total 54 |
Notre Dame will be meeting Pittsburgh for the 67th time, holding a 45-20-1 series advantage. The Fighting Irish own a 25-10-1 mark away from Notre Dame Stadium and have won 13 of the last 17 meetings.
Interestingly enough, the program was 5.5-point road underdogs the last time it played on the road in this series, covering the spread in a 27-22 loss. The Irish gained revenge from that slip up with a 23-17 win in 2010 as six-point home favorites.
Many college football betting professionals walked away impressed with the team’s 31-13 home win over-then No. 15 Michigan State, holding them to just a single rushing first down, which was the second-fewest ever recorded by a Spartans rushing attack.
Notre Dame has won almost 70 percent of its games versus teams that currently make up the Big East Conference, posting a 57-25-1 mark. The Irish are 28-11-1 all-time on the road against the conference.
Head coach Brian Kelly hopes that his 1-2 football team becomes enamored with winning. “We have not been infected with success yet,” the second-year coach stated in practice this week. “I’ll know when that happens. We need to win more and be consistent and pay attention to the little things.”
Turning the ball over continues to hinder the team’s performance, committing 13 miscues in the first three games, which is tied with Western Kentucky for the most in the country.
Quarterback Tommy Rees should have plenty of chances to exploit a Pitt defense that ranks 119th in the country against the pass and 96th in team defense. The Irish possess the 27th-best passing attack in college football.
Sportsbooks players will find that the Irish are 5-15-2 ATS as a favorite, while the under has cashed in four of five opportunities in that situation.
Pittsburgh dropped a disappointing 31-27 decision in Iowa last week, while also failing to cover as 3.5-point road underdogs. The Panthers did hold a 61-yard advantage on the ground in that particular contest and went over the posted total of 51.
Quarterback Tim Sunseri was productive, but also committed numerous mistakes against the Hawkeyes, completing 23-of-33 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
First-year head coach Todd Graham has some experience beating the Fighting Irish, even though this is his first year on campus, walking away with an upset win inside Notre Dame Stadium while coaching the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
Running back Ray Graham is fifth in the nation in rushing this week, averaging 139.7 yards per game, while his six rushing touchdowns are tied for the nation’s third-highest total.
The running game is vital to the Panthers success as a football team, posting a 40-12 record when it has a 100-yard rusher, including 2-0 this year. A main part of continuing that success is an offensive line that has a combined 68 starts.
On the other side of the ball, all the media discussion is centered around Brandon Lindsey, who has had at least one sack in nine of his past 15 contests. His 10 sacks in 2010 were the most by a player inside the program since 2010. Pitt is averaging 3.00 sacks per game, which currently ranks 22nd nationally.
Bettors will find that the Panthers are 0-3 ATS on the season and the ‘over’ is 2-1 in those college football betting contests.
Pitt may still have the advantage in terms of betting odds, as the underdog is 5-0-1 in the last six meetings.
