The Pittsburgh Panthers, who are the No. 23 ranked program in the country, will host the Clemson Tigers in Week 8 of the college football season.
This isn’t the same Clemson team we’re accustomed to seeing as they’ve lost two games this season, with their losses coming to North Carolina State and Georgia. On the other hand, Pittsburgh has lost just one game, which was a narrow loss to Western Michigan in September.
It’s a battle of two ACC opponents in Week 8 as Clemson will look to right the ship in the second half of the season while Pittsburgh looks to compete for a spot in the ACC Championship game.
Being that there isn’t a team running away in the ACC, this game could have implications on who appears in the ACC title game at the end of the season.
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Clemson vs. Pittsburgh Prediction
Talk about two programs that are heading in different directions. Clemson was considered a powerhouse program before the season began, with plenty of success under Dabo Swinney, as he had guys like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence at quarterback.
While D.J. Uiagalelei was highly-touted coming into the season, he’s struggled to the tune of 974 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions while completing only 55.7 percent of his passes for the Tigers in six games. On the other side of the field, Pittsburgh boasts one of the best offenses in the nation, led by quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Pickett has received more attention recently as he’s completing a personal-best 69.8 percent of his passes for 1,934 yards, 21 touchdowns, and one interception. Due to Pickett’s play under center, the Panthers boast an offense that is scoring 48.3 points per game.
Even though Clemson’s defense is containing teams to only 12.5 points per game, they haven’t faced many offenses as electric as Pittsburgh’s.
Clemson’s offense is predicated on running the football, but Pittsburgh has a run defense that is limiting teams to 100.2 rushing yards per game. If Clemson is forced to go through the air, they may run into plenty of problems versus Pittsburgh on the road.
I expect the Panthers to make a statement in Week 8 by taking down the Tigers.
Prediction: Pittsburgh 34, Clemson 24
The No. 23 Pittsburgh Panthers have been rolling as of late and look to continue their success in Week 8 against the Clemson Tigers in this CFB Pick of the Day. (Image: USA TODAY Sports)
Clemson vs. Pittsburgh Best Bets
Best Bet: Pittsburgh -3 (-113) at Unibet
Wager: 1 Unit
It’s a somewhat changing of the guards in the ACC this season as Clemson has not been their dominant selves. While the Tigers have sputtered on offense, the Panthers have been lights out on the offensive end.
The last thing that Clemson wants to do is get in a shootout with Pittsburgh, as they don’t have a quarterback that can outclass Pickett through the air.
The only way I see Clemson being able to secure a win is if they force multiple turnovers, which hasn’t happened with Pickett tossing just one interception.
Clemson is 0-6 against the spread this season while, Pittsburgh is 5-1 against the spread. With a high-octane offense leading the charge, the Panthers will be able to defeat the Tigers by more than 3 points in front of their home crowd.
Best Bet: Pittsburgh Moneyline (-159) at Unibet
Wager: 1 Unit
I’m fairly confident that Pittsburgh can take of business at home versus Clemson. If we’re speaking about recent years, Clemson would have the upper hand as they have earned a 15-2 record on the road in their last 17 road contests.
They also own an 18-2 record straight up against teams in the ACC in their last 20 meetings. But this is a way different team than in years past for the Tigers as they’ve been unable to find their identity on offense.
The way I see this game going is Pittsburgh’s offense has no trouble moving the ball while Clemson makes a couple of mistakes that prevent them from pulling off the upset. Take the moneyline for the Panthers, and do it with confidence.
Best Bet: Pittsburgh ML and Over 47.5 Total Points (+210) at Unibet
Wager: 0.5 Units
On Unibet, they have a section where you can bet the moneyline and the total of the game in the same bet. You can get Pittsburgh’s moneyline and over 46.5 total points at +205 odds.
Pittsburgh shouldn’t have much trouble scoring 30+ points themselves, as they’ve achieved that number in all but one of their contests this season. While Clemson hasn’t been able to score with ease like in previous years, they can muster up 20ish points, even if some of them come in garbage time.
The total has gone over in 12 of the last 14 games for Pittsburgh, and the total has gone over in the last 6 home games for the Panthers. So the odds are in our favor when betting the over for Pittsburgh on Saturday versus Clemson.
