Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Pittsburgh Panthers
Saturday, 9/24/11, 12:00 PM EST, TV: ABC
Opening Point Spread: Notre Dame -5.5
Current Betting Line: Notre Dame -7
Opening Total: 56
Current Total: 56
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Notre Dame finally got its first win last week in coming away with a 31-13 victory over the Michigan State Spartans as six-point home favorites. The Fighting Irish are a highly talented team and one of five schools to have individual players ranked among the top 30 nationally in passing yards, receiving yards and rushing yards. Possibly the best player of the group is wide receiver Michael Floyd, who ranks fourth with 10.3 receptions per game and 132.3 receiving yards a contest. Tommy Rees deserves some attention after being the first quarterback to pick up wins over Michigan State, USC and a bowl game since 1993. Notre Dame is 4-13 ATS as a favorite.
The Fighting Irish have a big advantage in this contest due to second-year head coach Brian Kelly having previous experience against the Big East Conference. He spent three years at Cincinnati and tallied a 34-6 record in that span, including a 17-4 mark in conference action. This year’s matchup will mark the 67th meeting between the two schools, with Notre Dame holding a 45-20-1 series lead, including wins in 13 of the last 17 meetings. Last year’s meeting resulted as a push for college football picks, as the Irish came away with a 23-17 win as six-point home favorites.
Pittsburgh was unable to hold off Iowa in falling, 31-27, as three-point road underdogs last week. The Panthers are led by the offensive talents of running back Ray Graham, who ranks fifth in the nation with 139.67 rushing yards a game. He also has six rushing touchdowns, which is good enough to be tied for third nationally. The rushing game has always been important for this program, posting a 40-12 record when it has a 100-yard rusher. Pittsburgh is 14-11 ATS over the last two-plus campaigns and 0-3 ATS as an underdog.
The Panthers have had all kinds of trouble finishing games, getting outscored by a 49-13 margin in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh quarterback Tino Sunseri will need to do a better job managing the game, but he did complete 23 of 33 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the defense is averaging three sacks a game and enters as the 23rd-best unit against the run, giving up just 80 yards a game. Turnovers are always key when facing the Irish, as they have been known to make mistakes, which is key for the Panthers who have forced at least one turnover in 24 of the past 29 games.
Bettors will likely back the Panthers due to the underdog being 5-0-1 ATS in the last six meetings, while the Irish are 1-4 ATS as a road favorite.
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