Tweet
Craig Davis
20 Dime
Winner #8 of 11
Pitt Panthers
20 Dime
Winner #8 of 11
Pitt Panthers
-
Richard Saber @ Gaming Today
NCAA
Thursday, Sept. 6
Pitt +3.5 at Cincinnati: The Panthers lured the Youngstown State Penguins down to Heinz Field paying them big bucks to come, but were just humiliated 31-17 as a -18½ point favorite. This can’t do much for their ego and now they must go to Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati and play the Bearcats.Comment
-
David Banks
Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
The first Big East Conference game of the year takes place on Thursday
night as the Cincinnati Bearcats open up their 2012 season vs. a Pittsburgh
Panthers team coming off of an embarrassing loss at Nippert Stadium in
Cincinnati, OH at 8:00 ET on ESPN. The Bearcats had an opening week bye while the
Panthers now wish they had one too after losing at home 31-17 to Youngstown
State out of the FCS, Pitt's first loss ever vs. a non-FBS school.
That loss marked the Pittsburgh coaching debut of Paul Chryst, and the
contest was a nightmare even before it began when it was announced just before
kickoff that six players were suspended for the opener for disciplinary
reasons, including highly touted running back Rushel Shell. It has not yet been
announced if the suspensions will be lifted for this game, so Shell, who is
the leading rusher in Pennsylvania high school history, may or may not make
his college debut Thursday. Without him, the Panthers managed an ordinary 369
total yards vs. an FCS defense in a game Youngstown State controlled from
start to finish, much to the chagrin of the booing Pittsburgh home crowd.
Other than the suspensions, Chryst is also Pittsburgh's fourth head coach in
the last three years, and bringing in yet another coaching staff that is
implementing new schemes on both offense and defense is another reason why the
Panthers were so discombobulated vs. a supposed outclassed opponent. It is not
as if Pittsburgh is lacking in talent, as quarterback Tino Sunseri is back
for his senior season and the one good thing to come out of last week's
disaster is that running back Ray Graham, who has rushed for over 2200 yards in
his Pitt career and who had over 1000 all-purpose yards when he tore his ACL
in the ninth game of the season last year, show no ill effects in his first
game back while rushing for 71 yards on 14 carries (5.1 YPC).
The Bearcats return 11 starters from a ream that went 10-3 last year, a
season that culminated with a 31-24 win over Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl.
However, only four of those returning starters are on offense, so there will
be some rebuilding on a unit that ranked 33rd in the nation in scoring at
33.3 points per game in 2011 and 48th in rushing offense at 178.5 yards per
contest. The Cats will be hard pressed to match that success on the ground
considering last year's leading rusher and Big East Offensive Player of the Year
Isaiah Pead is now in the NFL and the team also lost three starting
offensive linemen, two of which were All-Big East selections. Cincinnati does
return its top two receivers, and although quarterback Zach Collaros has moved
on, the new starter Munchie Legaux does have experience as he filled in when
Collaros missed some time with injuries last season. The defense is more
experienced with seven starters back, and it was one of the better defenses in
the Big East last year, although two of the starters not returning were
linebacker J.K. Schaffer and defensive tackle Derek Wolfe, both of whom were
first team All-Big East members.
Despite the vast coaching turnover in recent years, Pittsburgh has
dominated this head-to-head series from a betting standpoint, going 6-1 ATS in the
last seven meetings.
Pick: Under 48.5Comment
-
Fantasy Sports Gametime
Baseball Thursday
100* Play Washington (-220) over Chicago Cubs (MLB TOP PLAY)
Starts at 7:00 PM EST
Justin Germano has lost 19 of the last 25 games when pitching in the 2nd half of the season and he has lost 21 of the last 27 night games. Justin Germano has lost 19 of the last 30 games when the total posted is between 7 and 8.5 runs and he is 0-3 over the last three starts with an ERA of 10.43.
50* Play Atlanta (-190) over Colorado (MLB BONUS PLAY)
50* Play Miami (-130) over Milwaukee (MLB BONUS PLAY)Comment
-
FantasySportsGametime
Football Thursday
100* Play Cincinnati -4 over Pittsburgh (TOP NCAA PLAY)
Starts at 8:00 PM EST
Pittsburgh has lost 3 of the last 4 games against the spread when playing on a Thursday and they have also lost 8 of the last 11 games against the spread as a road underdog of 3.5 to 7 points. Pittsburgh has lost 4 consecutive games against the spread when playing in the 1st two weeks of the season and they have lost 5 of the last 6 games coming off a loss as a double-digit favorite.Comment
Comment