You have to take the quality of their respective opponents last week into consideration a bit, but the week 2 Cincinnati at Pittsburgh betting matchup could see some points put up the way each offense performed in their openers. The Bearcats made light work off Eastern Kentucky 66-13 last Saturday while Pitt rolled to a 45-7 victory over Wofford.
Saturday’s O/U is 44.5, with the Panthers being a -6.5 favorite at home. The “River City Rivalry” is back for the first time since 2012, and public betting has been split fairly evenly.
Why Cincinnati Has Value at +6.5
The Bearcats have their work cut out for them in the week 2 Cincinnati at Pittsburgh betting matchup against a good Panthers defense, but the visitors are still largely an unknown. Coach Luke Fickell left to coach Wisconsin, and in his place Scott Satterfield and a bevy of newcomers hope to continue the success of the previous regime.
It’s so far, so good for Satterfield whose team racked up 66 points in week one against Eastern Kentucky. EKU is an FCS team, but Cincinnati still easily covered the -21.5 point spread and the opener served as a huge confidence builder for new QB Emory Jones, who had 7 TDs (5 pass, 2 run).
Pittsburgh also looked good in their opener, but they were also -38 point favorites so only managed to push in their 45-7 victory over Wofford. Either way, the Bearcats didn’t score even 30 points in any of their final eight games last season, so it was a very solid start to the season offensively.
Why Pittsburgh Has Value at -6.5
The new Cincinnati QB Jones had a great first game, but this is also a guy that couldn’t hold on to his job in previous stops at Florida and Arizona State, Jones threw just 7 TDs to 4 INTs last year at ASU, and he’s now entering his sixth year of eligibility with the Bearcats.
The Panthers have their own experienced signal caller, with former Notre Dame and Boston College QB Phil Jurkovec coming back home to Pittsburgh for his sixth season. Jurkovec was sharp in the opener against Wofford, hitting 17/23 passes with a TD pass and a 23-yard TD run. RB Rodney Hammond, Jr. also scored on two of his five carries.
The Pitt defense could be the real hero of Saturday’s game, as they held Wofford to just 128 total yards last week including 19 rushes for -1 yard. The Panthers had the top rush defense in the ACC last season allowing just 98 yards/game on the ground.
Free Week 2 Cincinnati at Pittsburgh Betting Pick
We don’t know a ton about either of these teams considering they both played FCS opponents in their season opener, does that mean take or give the points? Jones was very good in week one for the Bearcats, and Satterfield racking up 66 points shows that he wants Cincinnati fans to forget about the Fickell era sooner rather than later.
Free Pick: Cincinnati +6.5
