Pittsburgh Panthers vs Virginia Tech Hokies Game Preview and Prediction - 10/16/2021

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 16, 2021

Venue:  Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA 

Where to Watch:  ESPN2

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Pittsburgh -5, VT +5; Over/Under:  57.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Pittsburgh -5, VT +5; Over/Under:  58 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Pittsburgh -5, VT +5; Over/Under:  57.5 points

 

Pittsburgh Panthers:  4-1 (1st place, ACC Coastal)

Virginia Tech Hokies:  3-2 (2nd place, ACC Coastal)

 

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Pittsburgh Panthers:  won on the road on Oct. 2 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 52-21.

Virginia Tech Hokies:  lost at home on Oct. 9 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 32-29.

 

 

 

Pittsburgh is coming into this game with a 4-1 record overall and they are 2-0 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 2nd conference matchup of the year and they are already off to a good start with a 1-0 record in their conference games this season. That win came in their last game against GT 52-21 in a game that they dominated the entire time. They were on a bye last week so they have had an extra week to prepare for this game and are on a 2 game winning streak coming into it. Kenny Pickett had a great game in that one as he completed 23/36 passes for 389 yards and 4 touchdowns. Israel Abanikanda led the team in rushing with 60 yards and 2 touchdowns on 15 carries while Vincent Davis was right behind with 50 rushing yards on 13 carries. Rodney Hammond Jr. had 6 carries for 48 yards as no one player stood out in their ground game. The receiving corps had a very nice day as Taysir Mack led the team with 121 receiving yards and 1 touchdown on 5 receptions while Jordan Addison was right behind him with 117 receiving yards and 1 touchdown on 6 receptions. Lucas Krull also caught 1 TD through the air in that game. SirVocea Dennis led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles, 2 assisted ones and 1 sack while Damarri Mathis also played well with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. John Morgan had the only other sack for the defense in that game. It was John Petrishen and Deslin Alexandre who both had 1 interception each for their team in that one. They have scored 262 points in their first 5 games averaging 52.4 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 113 points against them allowing 22.6 PPG. Their offense is averaging 554.2 YPG while their defense is allowing 338.4 YPG.

 

 

VT is coming into this game with a 3-2 record overall and they are 3-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 2nd conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are also off to a good start with a 1-0 record in their conference games this season. That win came against the North Carolina Tar Heels back in their season opener. They are coming off of a tough loss against Notre Dame in their last game losing 32-29. Braxton Burmeister struggled in that game as he completed 15/30 passes for 184 yards and 1 interception. He also led the team in rushing with 49 yards and 1 touchdown on 10 carries while Raheem Blackshear had 35 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 8 carries. They did not really have much of a running game in that one though. Tre Turner led the receivers with 80 yards on 6 receptions and Tayvion Robinson had 53 yards on 5 receptions in what was a quiet day for the receiving corps. Nasir Peoples led the defense with 6 solo tackles, 6 assisted ones and 1 interception in that game. Jermaine Waller also had 1 interception for the defense in that one. Amare Barno led the defense in sacks with 1 while Josh Fuga and Jaylen Griffin both combined for 1 sack in that game. They have scored 123 points in their first 5 games averaging 24.6 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 93 points against them allowing 18.6 PPG. Their offense is averaging 328.8 YPG while their defense is allowing 340 YPG. 

 

Pittsburgh is coming into this game as a 5 point favorite and the total is set at 57.5 with the current betting odds according to Draftkings sportsbook. Pittsburgh has been moving the ball very well on offense this year as they are averaging over 500 yards of offense per game. They are not just moving the ball well though, they are also finishing out drives as they are averaging over 50 points scored per game as well. Their defense is not the greatest though and Virginia Tech will be able to score points on them as they scored 29 in their last game. This game could get away from them quickly if they fall too far behind though as they may not be able to keep up with Pittsburgh's offense. The best bets to place in this game are on the over as there will be a lot of points from both sides and on Pittsburgh to cover the spread as they are playing much better and scoring more in their recent games.

 

Pittsburgh Virginia Tech Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 16, 2021 (3:30 pm ET start time) is Pittsburgh 49 VT 31.

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Pittsburgh Panthers: 165-173 ATS in all games. 78-89 ATS as a favorite. 125-132 O/U in all games. 50-63 O/U in road games. 74-86 O/U against conference opponents.

Virginia Tech Hokies: 182-168 ATS in all games. 27-17 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points. 49-40 ATS as an underdog. 87-81 ATS in home games. 117-107 ATS against conference opponents.

 

 

Pittsburgh Panthers:  G. Carrigan (TE) Ques Sat - Leg injury. A. Davis Jr. (RB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. G. Thomson (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

Virginia Tech Hokies:  J. Jones (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. C. Blumrick (QB) Out indefinitely - Leg injury. E. Belmar (DL) Out indefinitely - Concussion.

 

 

Pittsburgh Panthers: Jordan Addison is one player to watch in this contest. He leads his team in receiving yards and in touchdowns scored this season. He is coming off of a great game where he had over 100 yards receiving and he will need to keep that up here. He has had an extra week of rest so look for him to come out in this game and make some big catches. 

 

Virginia Tech Hokies: Braxton Burmeister is one player to watch here. He leads his team in both passing yards and rushing yards playing at the quarterback position. He is coming off of a bad game where his team did not really get much going on offense. He will need to turn things around here if they want to win this game so look for him to step up and play better in this game to give his team a chance here.

 

 

"He's made a lot of money for himself coming back, I can tell you that. He should be a Heisman candidate. ... He's so smooth, so calm." - Pat Narduzzi on Kenny Pickett and his performance in their win over GT in their last game.

 

 

 

"Obviously, that's a tough locker room. What a football game. It's a tough one, obviously, to swallow." - Justin Fuente after his team lost a very close back and forth game against ND in their last one.

 

 

WR Mack, Taysir 

WR Jacques-Louis, Shocky 

WR Addison, Jordan 

TE Krull, Lucas 

QB Pickett, Kenny 

RB Abanikanda, Israel 

 

WR Smith, Kaleb 

WR Turner, Tré 

WR Robinson, Tayvion 

TE DeIuliis, Drake 

QB Burmeister, Braxton 

RB Holston, Jalen 

 

Passing: K. Pickett (1731)

Rushing: I. Abanikanda (207)

Receiving: J. Addison (524)

Touchdowns: J. Addison (9)

Sacks: H. Baldonado (3.5)

Tackles: E. Hallett II (14)

 

Passing: B. Burmeister (930)

Rushing: B. Burmeister (189)

Receiving: T. Turner (330)

Touchdowns: R. Blackshear (4)

Sacks: T. Garbutt (3)

Tackles: N. Peoples (24)

 

Coaches:

Pittsburgh Panthers: Pat Narduzzi (7th season)

Virginia Tech Hokies: Justin Fuente (6th season)

 

68 degrees F scattered showers, 82% humidity, 50% chance of rain, up to 11 mph wind speeds W.