After another tough loss, the Pitt Panthers must travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. Game time from the Yellow Jackets’ Bobby Dodd Stadium is set for 12:20 EST this Saturday. The game can be seen on the ACC Network.
It’s been tough sledding for the Pitt Panthers. Playing two top 10 teams (Penn State and Oklahoma State) in a row doesn’t help, but they looked like an FCS squad last week against the Cowboys. Their secondary is still very much the main weak spot of this team. They were burnt repeatedly by Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph.
And their offense hasn’t fared much better, with USC QB transfer Max Browne already being benched. They still have a few bright spots at the skill positions, but their season is quickly going to the gutters before conference play even starts.
For Georgia Tech, they’ll have an extra week to prepare for this game and have yet to leave Atlanta. After a heartbreaking loss opening week to Tennessee, they smothered Jacksonville State, giving up only 189 yards.
Tech has beat the spread in both of its games, thanks to a combination of strong running from several different sources. They’ve also had some electric play from wide receiver Ricky Jeune when the option offense decides to take it to the air.
The Yellow Jackets are currently 7.5-point favorites in this ACC opener.
Georgia Tech comes in knowing they can give QB TaQuon Marshall a few more opportunities to throw the ball. Though he’s only thrown 16 passes, he has a couple receivers to burn the Panthers D with. Jeune has definitely become one of those guys.
But the big test for the Jackets will come from the Pittsburgh front. They’re much younger this season, but still haven’t been gashed on the ground. The option is tough to play against for anyone though, and the Yellow Jackets have found their RBs almost interchangeable. Their 745 yards on the ground (over 5.5 yards per carry) shows just how reliable the option has been for head coach Paul Johnson.
It was the defense that plagued Tech versus Tennessee. A better offense could put up some points against the Yellow Jackets. But with Pittsburgh’s QB woes, and the fact they couldn’t even light up a below-average Cowboys’ defense, points to even bigger problems for the Panthers. They’re no longer capable of winning slugfests like they used to.
Everyone knew the backend of the Pitt defense would struggle, but no one expected this big of a dip offensively. Even after RB James Conner and QB Nathan Peterman left, Browne and Qadree Ollison seemed like capable replacements. While Ollison brings some stability, the Panthers have had to look down the depth chart for some playmaking capabilities.
Because of their unexpected swoon offensively (56 points in three games), they’ve added to their 0-4-1 stretch ATS. Meanwhile, the Jackets are on a 6-0 run ATS, and have done just fine running against Pitt’s defense (5.4, 9.4, and 7.3 averages) the last three years.
Georgia Tech has had an extra week to prepare versus a traveling team demoralized by their latest loss. Look for them to wear Pitt down, and then blow the top off the defense late in the game if need be.