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This Hurricanes vs. Panthers prediction is courtesy of Pregame.com.
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The Pittsburgh Panthers host the Miami Hurricanes tonight in front of a national audience on ESPN at 7:45 EDT. This clash is very important to both teams as they head into the conference season. The Hurricanes are coming off a tough loss to Ohio St, while the Panthers are still trying to recover from their opening season loss to Utah. The Hurricanes are -4 road favorites tonight, with a total of 50 points expected.
Pittsburgh is already off to a disappointing start, and that was after the first game of the season. The popular pick to win the Big East Conference, as well as contend as a darkhorse for the National Championship is, is already unranked. Making matters worse is the simple fact that this team has yet to win a game ATS this season. After losing both SU and ATS to Utah, the Panthers beat New Hampshire 38-16 SU yet lost ATS as a 29.5 favorite. Coach Wannstedt is on the hot seat for not just his teams play on the field, but off it as well. How will the Panthers handle the distractions of 3 of their own and their problems with the law? RB Dion Lewis has underachieved so far this year, gaining only 102 YDS on 35 carries. Defenses are teeing off on the Pittsburgh rushing attack, because they don't respect the passing game of the Panthers. QB Tino Sunseri needs to develop faster as the QB and leader of this team. Defensively, Pittsburgh has allowed an average of 21.5 PPG this year, 61st in the nation. The Panthers are hoping for some help from the fans, as the team is playing in front of a national audience midweek against a ranked opponent.
The Panthers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss. The Under is 11-5 in their last 16 games following a bye week.
Miami has nobody to blame but themselves for their loss last week to Ohio St. The Hurricanes had 4 turnovers compared to 0 for Ohio St. That right there was the ballgame, as the Hurricanes lost SU and ATS 24-36. Miami still has plenty to play for, as they are still the 19th ranked team in the nation. Prized QB Jacory Harris needs to put the Ohio St. 4 INT game behind him, as he needs to focus on the rest of the season. The Hurricanes have the 38th best passing offense in the nation at 241 YPG. Harris will need to throw the ball early and often against a Pittsburgh team that is quite stout against the run. Defensively, the Hurricanes are 34th in the nation in scoring defense at 18 PPG. Coach Shannon gave his team quite the motivational speech this week, so one would expect to see an emotional Hurricanes team tonight. Miami has played to the under in 10 of their past 14 games played on Thursday night. Miami is in the middle of 3 consecutive road games.
The Hurricanes are 3-13 ATS in their last 16 games following a bye week. The Under is 7-0 in their last 7 vs. Big East.
Pregame.com projects the final score to be 27-24 in favor of the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Panthers +4 is the Side of the Day!
