Pitt-Virginia
Time: 4:30 PM ET
Spread: VIR -5
Total: 46.5
Betting Odds courtesy of Bookmaker
Both Pittsburgh and Virginia are 3-2 on the season and both the Panthers and Cavaliers have 1-0 records in the ACC. That will change this week, and college football oddsmakers expect the Cavaliers improve to 2-0 in ACC play, setting the line 5-points in favor of home team Virginia.
Pittsburgh has been a deadly team on the ground, ranking 16th in the nation with 269.4 yards per game. It’s translated well to success, as Virginia averages a plus-14.8 point differential. That said, the Panthers haven’t faced many quality teams, and dropped its past two weeks to Iowa and Akron. Beating Delaware, Boston College and FIU in the first three weeks proved very little.
James Connor has been a monster for the Panthers in the backfield. He’s rushed for 791 yards on the year already, with a 5.9 yard per carry average. Connor’s nine TDs are more than the five rushing TDs generated from teammates, and Pitt’s second leading rusher is QB Chad Voytik. Voytik has thrown for 754 yards with a 60.2 percent completion ratio and he’s rushed for 185 yards on 33 carries.
Tyler Boyd has led the Panthers in receiving. He’s caught 27 passes for 365 yards (13.5 yards per) and has four TDs on the season. Manasseh Garner has been the only other WR worthy of mention, and he’s caught 12 passes for 139 yards (11.6 per reception) with one TD on the season.
Virginia is has gone 1-2 against AP ranked opponents and is 1-1 against non-ranked teams. The AP win came over then- No.21 Louisville, a two-point victory that showed the Cavs still have the potential to compete with the big boys. Last week proved otherwise, with Virginia getting stomped by Kent State to the tune of 45-13. This week should be some respite, with the Cavs being five-point favorites in college football odds.
Greyson Lambert is questionable for this week’s game, and he’s one of two QBs utilized in the Cavs offense. Lambert has thrown for 564 yards on the season and rushed for an additional 46, while Matt Johns has thrown for 594 yards and rushed for 112 yards.
Both have QB ratings over 100, with Lambert having run up a 131.0 rating. The Cavaliers also have four receivers with 175 yards or more (Canaan Severin, Darius Jennings, Miles Gooch and Andre Leverone). The quartet also has five TDs between them.
In the backfield, only QB Johns averages more than four yards per carry. The leading rusher Kevin Parks averages just 3.4 yards per carry and has two TDs on the season.
Trends:
PITT: UNDER 5-1 in Pitt’s last 6 games following SU loss; OVER 4-1 in last 5 following double-digit home loss; 4-1 ATS in last 5 road games.
VIR: 5-0 ATS vs teams with winning records; 7-0 ATS in last 7 on grass; 5-0 ATS in last 5 home games.
Head-to-head: Favorite 5-0 ATS in last 5 home games.
