There could be major implications in the ACC Coastal division this weekend when the Duke Blue Devils host the Pittsburgh Panthers. Game time is set for 8:00 EST on Saturday, October 5 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Fans can find the game on the ACC Network.
Current odds have Duke as 4-point favorites at home with an over/under of 48.5 points. Click here to check out a full list of this week’s college football betting odds.
The Blue Devils are fresh off a 45-10 thrashing of Virginia Tech in their ACC opener last weekend. Duke has bounced back nicely after taking a beating from Alabama to start the season. In fairness, their other wins have come against North Carolina A&T and Middle Tennessee. But outside of the Alabama game, the Blue Devils have scored over 40 points and won comfortably every time out.
They now head into the heart of their ACC schedule with back-to-back home games against Pitt and Georgia Tech. With a sweep of those games, the Blue Devils could put themselves in a good position to contend in the Coastal division. On the other hand, they also face a brutal schedule in November, so it’s important to keep the wins coming to secure another bowl bid.
As for the Panthers, they continue a wildly up and down season. Two weeks ago, Pitt stunned Central Florida, only to come back last week and barely beat FCS opponents Delaware 17-14. Of course, both games count as wins and put the Panthers at 3-2 overall as they head back into conference play this week.
We should remember that Pitt lost to Virginia in their season opener, so they’re already 0-1 in ACC play, putting them in a tough spot with regard to defending their Coastal division title. The Panthers are also on the road for three of their next four games. If Pitt can begin that stretch with their first conference win, they could factor into the Coastal division race. But a loss to Duke will have the Panthers thinking about just trying to get to a bowl game.
On the bright side, the Panthers have won four straight games against Duke. David Cutliffe is just 1-5 against the Panthers since Pitt joined the ACC. He’s also winless in four tries against Pat Narduzzi. That being said, Pitt has won by single digits the past two seasons, so the Blue Devils have kept things competitive even if they’ve struggled to beat the Panthers.
Through five games, I’m not sure if I know who the real Pitt team is. Things are further complicated by the status of starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, who may or may not play this week after missing last week’s win over Delaware. Between that and Duke playing some impressive football early in the season, I’m going to eat the points and lead toward the Blue Devils in this game.
While the Panthers going with backup quarterback Nicki Patti helps explain why they struggled last week, it doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence if Pickett misses this week’s game as well. Patti wasn’t half bad, but even with an inexperienced quarterback, the Panthers need to score more than 17 points against an FCS opponent. Pitt’s two turnovers in that game are also a concern.
Even if Pickett plays, I still have some doubts about the Pitt offense. The running game hasn’t been that consistent and they’ve been unable to create explosive plays. In fact, the win over Central Florida was the only time the Panthers scored more than 17 points in a game this season. Admittedly, the Panthers have played a difficult schedule, but failing to reach 20 points in four out of five games is a red flag.
Moreover, it’s not as if facing the Duke defense is going to be any easier than facing the teams the Panthers have played in previous weeks. The Blue Devils completely shut down Virginia Tech last week and are giving up less than 14 points per game over their last three games. Remember, the Duke defense held Alabama off the scoreboard for the first quarter of their season opener. They have plenty of athletes on that said of the ball who can give the Pitt offense problems.
On the other side of the ball, the Duke offense has been consistent outside of the Alabama game, albeit against questionable competition. Under Quentin Harris, the Duke offense operates a little differently than it did under Daniel Jones. But that could actually give the Blue Devils an advantage against teams like Pitt that see them every year. Williams is a serious threat with his legs, but he’s also completed 73% of his passes on the season with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Based on the early part of the season, this is a heavy lean toward Duke. Even if Pickett can play, I’m not sold on Pitt going on the road and scoring enough points to hang around for 60 minutes. The Blue Devils are tough on defense and capable enough on offense to win this game comfortably and cover.