Pat Narduzzi brings his team into Pitt at Boston College betting with a solid 3-1 record, but the coach knows the Panthers let one get away last week. Pittsburgh lost 30-29 at home last week as -14 point favorites, allowing the Wolfpack to score with 0:23 left. 2-1 Boston College is also coming off their first loss of the season, although they played tough in a 26-22 loss at home to North Carolina as two TD underdogs.
Pitt has fallen out of the top 25 with their loss last week, but are nonetheless -6.5 road favorites on Saturday (4:00 PM ET, ACC Network). There could be some value to be had on the Golden Eagles, considering this will be Pittsburgh’s first road game of the year, a month into the season. BC also won this matchup 26-19 last season, on the road as +9 point underdogs.
Can Pittsburgh’s Defense Bounce Back?
Narduzzi needs to regroup his defense ahead of Pitt at Boston College betting. The Panthers came into last week’s game with NC State as one of the top units in the country, but were sliced up by Wolfpack QB Devin Leary for 336 yards and 4 TD.
Leary drove his team down the field in 8 plays to set up a 13-yard TD pass to Emeka Emezie with 23 seconds left to lead the outright win as +14 underdogs. Pittsburgh still has the #3 defense in total yards, and did hold NC State to 62 yards rushing on 30 carries. Louisville ran for 116 the game prior against Pittsburgh, but the Panthers defense held the Cardinals to 107 yards passing. This is a very versatile unit.
The defensive collapse spoiled Pitt QB Kenny Pickett’s career day. The Senior threw for 411 yards and a TD, while running for two more scores. Boston College’s defense is no slouch though, holding North Carolina’s Sam Howell to a 14/26 day with 225 yards. Howell is a dark horse Heisman candidate after a 35 TD, 7 INT season last year as a freshman.
Can Jurkovec Lead the Win?
Boston College is going to be very one-dimensional on Saturday as they have one of the worst rushing attacks in the country, averaging just 70.3 ypg. Pitt doesn’t bend even against good rushing teams, ranking 2nd in the nation allowing only 57.5 ypg on the ground.
That means if BC wants a chance to cover the +6.5 spread in Pitt at Boston College betting, they’ll need a monster game from QB Phil Jurkovec. Nobody would love to have a bigger game on Saturday than Jurkovec, a Notre Dame transfer and a Pittsburgh PA native. NC State proved last week that you can move the sticks against Pittsburgh even without a running game and Jurkovec has thrown for 300+ in two of three games this season.
The Golden Eagles defense did a solid job against Howell last week, but North Carolina was also playing their first game in nearly a month due to COVID and scheduling glitches. The 400+ yard game from Pickett and Pitt last week was an anomaly though, as he didn’t throw for more than 220 in the two games prior. The BC defense did allow almost 350 yards total to Texas State two weeks ago, winning 24-21 at home as -21.5 favorites.
Pitt at Boston College Betting Free Pick
The Golden Eagles were able to win this matchup 26-19 on the road last year as +9 point underdogs. Boston College not only has a new coach this year in Jeff Hafley, they also don’t have the running game they did in 2019 with AJ Dillon off to the NFL. Dillon had 32 carries for 178 yards a year ago against the Panthers.
Pitt is angry, but they were also exposed last week. The side is a tough one to call, but it seems like a close game either way.
Pitt 27 Boston College 21
Free Pick: Boston College +6.5
