Justin Berl/Getty Images. Pictured: Kenny Pickett.
Pitt vs. Georgia Tech Odds
| Pitt Odds | -6.5 [BET NOW] |
| Georgia Tech Odds | +6.5 [BET NOW] |
| Moneyline | -238/+195 [BET NOW] |
| Over/Under | 53.5 [BET NOW] |
| Time | Thursday, 7 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN3 |
| Odds as of Wednesday evening and via BetMGM. Get an INSTANT $500 deposit match at BetMGM today. | |
Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech meet in Atlanta for some Thursday night ACC football this week.
Pittsburgh’s had an up-and-down season, as it’s blown out both Virginia Tech and Florida State, but the last time it was on the field, it was routed by Clemson. A win on Thursday could guarantee at least a .500 record in 2020.
Georgia Tech has gone through a lot of growing pains this season but has had some positive moments with freshman quarterback Jeff Sims.
Pittsburgh Panthers
Offense
To say the Panthers’ offense has been struggling would be putting it lightly. Pittsburgh sits at 91st in Offensive Success Rate and 95th in explosiveness, per College Football Data. Both the run and the pass have been struggling, as it ranks near the bottom of the ACC in both Passing and Rushing Success Rate.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett has missed three games this season due to injury, but when he plays, he’s been solid. The quarterback is throwing the ball for 7.4 yards per attempt and has developed a nice connection with Jordan Addison, who has 57 catches for an 11.4 yards per catch average this year.
The problem for Pittsburgh’s offense is that is struggles mightily in the running game. The Panthers average just 2.9 yards per carry and rank 126th in Offensive Line Yards. Georgia Tech is terrible versus the run, so the Panthers need to find some semblance of a rushing attack in this contest.
Defense
The defensive side of the ball is where the Panthers excelled last year, and that stellar play has continued in 2020. The Pitt defense has held opponents to just 4.7 yards per play and 2.8 yards per carry this season.
However, Pittsburgh has lost some of its best defenders, who opted out the season, including one of the best safeties in the conference in Paris Ford.
The Panthers boast one of the best defenses in the ACC, but they’ve been prone to giving up explosive plays. Pitt ranks 104th in the country in defensive explosiveness and 101st in passing explosiveness allowed.
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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Offense
Things are starting to trend in the right direction for Georgia Tech behind freshman dual-threat quarterback Sims. He has improved the Yellow Jackets’ passing attack in 2020, throwing for 7.3 yards per attempt. He just has a lot of issues taking care of the ball. He’s thrown 11 interceptions and lost four fumbles this season. That could be a major issue against a Notre Dame defense that ranks seventh in Havoc this season.
Even though they’ve transitioned away from the triple option, the Yellow Jackets have run the ball pretty effectively at 4.8 yards per carry. However, they’ll be facing one of the best run defenses they’ve seen all season long.
Defense
The Yellow Jackets brought back a lot of their defense from last season, but it hasn’t translated to any success. They’re allowing 5.7 yards per play this season, which is very similar to their 2019 numbers.
The Yellow Jacket defense has been decent against the run so far, allowing 4.4 yards per carry. However, that’s not the strength of the Pitt offense.
The real issues for Georgia Tech lie in its secondary. The Yellow Jackets are allowing 7.8 yards per pass attempt this season and rank 69th in Defensive Passing Success. However, as we’ve seen with Tech so far this season, it struggles when it has to face an above-average quarterback. Pickett should be able to pick the Georgia Tech secondary apart for some major gains on Thursday.
Betting Analysis & Pick
Despite the fact that Pittsburgh has been stellar on the defensive side of the ball, I think this game is going to be a little higher-scoring than people think. Pittsburgh put up 40+ points against Virginia Tech and Florida State, so it should have no problem against Georgia Tech’s below-average defense.
I have the total projected at 60.88, so I think there’s some value on the over at 54 points. However, I wouldn’t play it any higher than that.
Pick: Over 54.
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