The Miami Hurricanes are 12½-point NCAA football betting favorites versus the Pittsburgh Panthers, but something much bigger is at stake here; namely, the Canes first undefeated regular season since 2002. “It’s very difficult and very special,” senior receiver Braxton Berrios said. “Not many teams can say they had an undefeated season. It’s a very, very tough thing to do, playing against teams with the same amount of scholarship guys you have, each week. To be one game away is a testament to how hard we’ve worked and how much we’ve bought into everything this coaching staff brought.”
Today, keep your eye on these three matchups: https://t.co/UwbKzHuONb
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) November 24, 2017
- Date: November 24
- Time: 12:05 PM
- Venue: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
- Online sportsbook Vegas odds College Football Betting:
Miami Florida -12½ (-110) 51½ (-110) -465
Pittsburgh U +12½ (-110) 51½ (-110) +370
The bottomless Pitt
The Panthers have been, for Miami, the gift that keeps on giving. Miami has won the last seven meetings straight and 10 of the last 11, winning by an average margin of 18.2 points per game in the Canes’ last six visits to Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes are no doubt very well aware of their history with Pitt, but hopefully they keep recent, as in last week, history in mind as well. Miami’s undefeated season was about to come to an abrupt end on Saturday against the Virginia Cavs, against whom the Canes trailed by two touchdowns on two occasions before going on a tear and scoring 30 unanswered points on the way to a 44-28 win that snapped a seven-game under streak for UM. Miami’s winning streak has come at a price, though, and they have neglected the spread, going 5-5 ATS this season. On the other hand, the Canes are 5-1 ATS in their last six games against Pitt, 4-0 ATS in their last five on Friday, 8-1 ATS in their last nine in November, 4-1 ATS in their last five road games, and 1-4 against the NCAA football betting spread in their last five ACC games.
The money Pitt
The Panthers aren’t a money pit gambling-wise, for after all they have covered in three of their last four games, but they do resemble Tom Hanks and Shelley Long’s house in that they are quite the fixer-upper, having gone 3-3 SU at home this season, including a 31-34 upset to North Carolina as 10-point faves. While the Canes long for that elusive undefeated season, the Panthers are hoping for an upset the likes of which have not been seen in Steel City since Pitt defeated West Virginia on December 1, 2007, a game that draws many parallels with this Friday’s contest. “I hate to admit it,” former Pitt defensive end Chris McKillop, who was on the field that night, said. “Sometimes Pitt wins the games they’re supposed to lose and loses the games they’re supposed to win. It wouldn’t shock me at all for Pitt to beat Miami.” Pittsburgh is 5-2-1 ATS playing a team with a winning record, 7-19 ATS in their last 26 at home, and 1-4-1 ATS in their last six Friday games. In addition to that, the Panthers are 0-3 straight-up and against the NCAA football betting spread in their last three games as double-digit home dogs.