College football betting: Midweek matchup shows lean to Orange

We’re inactive a fewer weeks distant from Tuesday and Wednesday games featuring the Sun Belt and Conference USA, and we’ll person MACtion further down the line. But we aren’t empty-handed erstwhile it comes to weeknight games successful Week 3. In fact, we get a Power Four matchup betwixt Syracuse and Pitt, arsenic the 2 erstwhile Big East rivals conscionable successful the Panthers’ ACC opener.

The ACC gets 2 weeknight games — astatine slightest if we see Friday a weeknight — arsenic Miami draws the spotlight again, this clip against Wake Forest. Houston-Texas Tech is the bigger of the 2 Friday nighttime games, but we person to get done Thursday earlier worrying astir Friday. That means digging into the crippled successful the Steel City.

VSiN, The Sports Betting Network

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh analysis

Syracuse is already 0-1 successful ACC play aft losing to Cal astatine location this past weekend. That was a astonishing defeat, arsenic the Orange outgained the Golden Bears by astir 200 yards and were 4.5-point favorites. But losses volition hap erstwhile a squad squanders a large vantage successful yardage by finishing with a minus-3 turnover margin. Steve Angeli’s 3 interceptions were excessively overmuch to overcome.

Although the last people is what everybody volition notice, it besides should beryllium noted that the Orange bottled up Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, holding him to 21-of-34 passing for 182 yards. The Bears besides did thing of effect connected the ground, finishing with 67 yards connected 25 carries and a agelong tally of 13 yards. The Orange defence nether first-year antiaircraft coordinator Vince Kehres was beardown but recorded lone 1 sack and didn’t unit immoderate turnovers. Those would person been adjuvant fixed Angeli’s 3 interceptions and the Syracuse offense’s mean of conscionable 4.7 yards per play.

After wholly dismantling Miami (Ohio) to unfastened the season, Pitt looked importantly antithetic against tougher contention successful UCF. The Panthers won 12-7 conscionable a week aft scoring 59 points against the RedHawks, who are usually 1 of the amended antiaircraft teams successful the Group of Six. Against UCF, Pitt scored connected lone 2 possessions: an 83-yard tract extremity thrust and a 44-yard touchdown thrust acceptable up by beardown peculiar teams play. The Panthers had lone 15 archetypal downs.

But they besides held UCF to 9 archetypal downs, truthful it was not a bully violative show for either team. They combined to spell 7 for 31 connected 3rd down. The Panthers held UCF to less than 1 gait per transportation and an wide occurrence complaint of conscionable 33 percent, according to Game On Paper. The Knights averaged less than 4 yards per play and were fortunate to retrieve each 3 of their fumbles. Otherwise, Pitt apt would person covered the spread.

Last week’s results would suggest a antiaircraft struggle, but the full of 51 does basal retired a bit. The teams combined to people 125 points successful their play openers, but those games were against New Hampshire and Miami (Ohio). How overmuch tin we truly instrumentality from those 2 information points? At slightest past week’s games were against comparable competition. I’m conscionable throwing that retired determination due to the fact that the nether looks similar the casual play, but the full is successful the debased 50s for a reason, adjacent with a accidental of rainfall during the game.

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh prediction

Syracuse missed 2 tract goals and settled for 2 red-zone tract goals past week, including 1 aft reaching wrong the 10-yard line. Cal scored lone 14 violative points. The Orange’s nonaccomplishment was mostly self-inflicted, but I deliberation it obscured the bully things they did.

Meanwhile, Pitt faced a existent defence and mustered conscionable 2.4 yards per transportation and 18 completions. I’m not definite that’s a squad acceptable to screen a double-digit spread.

Pick: Syracuse +11