The Virginia Cavaliers (-2.5) will ring in the 2019 campaign against the Pittsburgh Panthers (+2.5) at Heinz Field. This conference game gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET and fans can tune in to the action on ACC Network. When the two teams met last year, Pittsburgh got the victory 23-13.
Betting Preview: Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Virginia Cavaliers
In this Saturday Atlantic Coast game, Virginia is tabbed as the favorite and is currently giving up 2.5 points. The Cavaliers are also receiving -140 moneyline odds while the Panthers are +120. If one side finds paydirt early it will create a solid in-game betting scenario. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 46 points.
Since the game’s total was originally placed at 49.5, the sharp action is siding with the under.
Against the spread (ATS) last season, the Wahoos went 9-4. The over cashed in six of their matchups while the under hit six times. The Panthers assembled an ATS record of 8-6 with an O/U record of 5-8.
Overall, the Panthers were 7-7 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Cavaliers were 8-5 last year. Against in-conference competition, the Cavaliers were 4-4 SU while the Panthers were 6-2 SU when playing Atlantic Coast schools. The Cavaliers went 3-1 SU when facing teams from outside the ACC and the Panthers were 1-3 SU against such competition.
The Cavaliers averaged 211.0 passing yards per game and 220.8 rushing yards per game against their four out-of-conference opponents last season. They was able to score 37.0 points per game versus those opponents while giving up 22.0 per contest. Against Atlantic Coast competition, they scored an average of 24.3 points and allowed an average of 21.6 points. They ultimately produced 212.4 pass yards per game and 145.5 rush yards per game.
When facing off against non-conference competition, the Panthers passed for 128.3 yards per game and ran for 177.0 a game on their way to 16.8 points per contest. When facing ACC opponents, the offensive unit recorded 33.6 points per game by averaging 166.0 passing yards and 260.5 rush yards. The Panthers defense gave up 30.5 PPG to non-conference foes and 26.4 PPG to conference teams.
Virginia Cavaliers vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Free Pick
SU Winner: Virginia, ATS Winner: Virginia, O/U: Under
Betting Trends
- Virginia created 19 rushing touchdowns last season.
- Pittsburgh put up a whopping 30 rushing touchdowns last season.
- The Cavaliers registered 4.5 yards per carry last season while allowing a YPC of 4.3 to opponents.
- The Panthers ran for 5.6 yards per carry last season and allowed 4.8 YPC to opponents.
- The Virginia offense allowed 31 sacks last season. Their defense created 26 sacks.
- Panthers quarterbacks were sacked 33 times last season. Their defense created 32 sacks
- Virginia produced 26 passing touchdowns last season.
- Pittsburgh only logged 12 passing touchdowns last season.
