Pitt comes into this weekend’s matchup against Miami on a bit of a roll, winning 4 straight. Last weekend they held on late to beat Syracuse 27-20. They were up 24-6 at halftime, but managed to hold off Syracuse’s late rally.
It was an evenly balanced game plan for Pitt offensively, with 232 yards passing and 145 yards on the ground. Running back AJ Davis led the way on the ground with 103 yards and 1 touchdown.
Miami is trying to rebound this week after a tough overtime loss to Georgia Tech. Sophomore QB N’Kosi Perry had a pedestrian day only 188 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. He showed real toughness as he played through a separated shoulder and his status is unknown for this weekend.
Pitt has won this year with a little bit of defense and little bit of smoke and mirrors. Offensively they have not been stellar, but they have made the big play when needed, especially the big trick play.
They used trick plays in a few games; Miami should be ready this week. Pitt is in second place in the Coastal division of the ACC and Miami stands in their way of repeating as Coastal Champs.
Pitt’s junior QB Kenny Pickett has been pretty good this season, with over 1,600 yards passing and that is while missing time with a few injuries this season. Pitt has leaned heavy on Pickett after they had most of their leading rushers graduate last year and are pretty young in the backfield.
Miami has used a few different young QB’s this season, they started the season off with true freshman Jarren Williams, but Perry has played mostly of late. Perry’s breakout game this year came in the shootout loss to Virginia Tech where he had 422 yards passing and 4 touchdowns.
The Hurricanes have dominated this matchup lately; winning 8 of the last 10 games, including a decisive 24-3 win last season. This week Pitt is favored by 5.5 points, Pitt is 5-2 against the spread this season, but only 2-2 at home.
Predicted Score Pitt 20 Miami 19