The Pittsburgh Panthers will try to break out of their recent ATS slump against Notre Dame at home this Saturday.
Notre Dame is 2-1 straight up but 3-0 ATS in their last three contests against the Panthers in Pittsburgh, continuing that run of against-the-spread pain for Penn State bettors.
Pittsburgh is currently a 6.5-point favorite, which might be enough to buck the trend since five of the last six games between these two teams have been decided by six points or less.
View Notre Dame vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.
Betting Line: On the Sportsbook line for this matchup the Panthers sat as 5.5-point underdogs . The total, meanwhile, settled in around 55 at shops such as Sportsbook (who are offering a crazy bonus that pledges to pay out as much as $900 in total). Best Notre Dame line -6.5 at Sportsbook while best Pitt line was Sportsbook.
Power Rankings / Prediction: It's a betting matchup between the No. 111-rated Panthers and the No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish, according to the NCAAF Power Rankings here at Odds Shark. Predictive-scoring models run on this game indicate a potential 34-31 result in favor of the Panthers.
How They Match Up:
The game also pits Pittsburgh's No. 54-ranked offense, averaging 32.3 PPG, against a Fighting Irish defense that ranks No. 63 this week at 23.7 PPG. The Panthers aerial game is averaging 240.3 yards per game, less than the Fighting Irish secondary allows through the air, 265 YPG per game.
In comparing defenses, the Fighting Irish own the league's No. 31-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 114 yards per game when on the road. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, rates No. 52 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
In their last action, Notre Dame was a 31-13 Sportsbook at home against Michigan State. They covered the 6–point spread as favorites, while the combined score (44) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.
Pittsburgh was a 31-27 loser in their most recent outing on the road against Iowa. They failed to cover the 3–point spread as underdogs, while the total score (58) made Sportsbooks of OVER bettors.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Trends:
When playing in September are 4-6
When playing on grass are 6-4
After being outgained are 7-3
When playing outside the conference are 7-3
Pittsburgh Panthers Trends:
When playing in September are 6-4
When playing on grass are 6-4
After being outgained are 8-2
When playing outside the conference are 6-4
A few Fighting Irish at Panthers trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Notre Dame's last 8 games
Notre Dame is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
Notre Dame is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Pittsburgh is 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Notre Dame
Next up:
Notre Dame at Purdue, Saturday, October 1
Pittsburgh home to South Florida, Thursday, September 29
