Penn State Nittany Lions vs Pitt Panthers: Steel City Showdown, 9–8–2018
Free College Football Spread Prediction by James Gunnar of King Sports Picks

Penn State Nittany Lions (1–0) vs Pittsburgh Panthers (1–0)
Saturday, September 8th, 8:00 PM EST
Line: Pitt +7.5, 55
The Penn State Nittany Lions and Pittsburgh Panthers renew their in-state rivalry under the lights in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. These teams have only played three times since 2000 with the Nittany Lions winning the last matchup in 2017 by a score of 33–14, but resulting in a Push as -19 point favorites.
#13 Penn State (1–0) narrowly avoided becoming the second Big Ten team to be humbled at home by Appalachian State, winning 45–38 in OT. Penn State squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead as the Mountaineers tore through their defense for four touchdowns in the final 15 minutes. Nevertheless, the Lions have another tough matchup on the road vs a Pitt team that can dictate the pace on offense with short passes that chew up the clock. Pitt may not have the offensive talent to get involved in a shootout with Penn State, but limiting how many scoring opportunities the Nittany Lions have will be essential to Pitt having a shot to win this one.

Pittsburgh made easy work of FCS opponent Albany in its opener last Saturday, scoring three first-quarter touchdowns and cruising to a 33–7 victory over the Great Danes. Pitt QB Kenny Pickett accounted for three touchdowns last week, leading the offense that racked up 407 yards. Pickett, who played four games last season as a true freshman, is looking for his second win over a ranked opponent in three starts. He guided the Panthers to a 24–14 win over then-№2 Miami in his lone start in 2017.
Nittany Lions are 7–2 ATS in their last 9 road games
Nittany Lions are 4–1–1 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games
Panthers are 4–0 ATS vs. a team with a winning record
Panthers are 1–5–1 ATS in their last 7 vs. Big Ten
Pitt certainly has the personnel to pull off a victory at home. However, this is a bad spot for the Panthers to play Penn State. The Lions got a wake-up call last week and you can be sure they won’t let the foot off the pedal if they get up early. Penn State’s defense was solid up until the 4th quarter last week so they’ll have to play all four quarters today. Penn State QB Trace McSorley has found plenty of success against the Panthers secondary, and Penn State’s offense should be able to find creases to exploit versus Pitt. My line has the Lions favored by -9 so I’ll lay the -7.5 points and back Penn State on the road.


