The Pittsburgh Panthers (1-0) and Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) meet Saturday for a Week 2 contest at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. The Panthers and Volunteers will tangle at noon ET. Below, we look at the Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee odds and lines; check back for our college football picks and predictions.
Pitt opened its season with a 51-7 win over Massachusetts. The Panthers logged multiple scores in all four quarters en route to outgaining the Minutemen 597 to 209 in total yards. Pitt covered a 38-point spread in the home win and won four of its last five games against the spread dating back to Nov. 7.
That stretch includes outright road wins at Florida State and Georgia Tech late last season.
Tennessee defeated Bowling Green 38-6 last week. The Volunteers got two rushing touchdowns from Michigan transfer QB Joe Milton. The Vols piled up 331 rushing yards against their MAC visitors but UT failed to cover a 37-point spread against the Falcons. Since Oct. 10, the Vols are just 2-7 ATS.
The head coaches in this one are familiar foes. UT head coach Josh Heupel was at UCF in 2018 when the Knights beat Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers by 31 points. Narduzzi led Pitt to a win over UCF the following season.
Pittsburgh at Tennessee odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 12:20 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Pittsburgh -160 (bet $160 to win $100) | Tennessee +130 (bet $100 to win $130)
- Against the spread (ATS): Pittsburgh -3.5 (+100) | Tennessee +3.5 (-125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 56.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Pittsburgh at Tennessee odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Pittsburgh 27, Tennessee 24
Money line
Saturday’s contest at Neyland figures to be a potential momentum builder for the Vols and Heupel. It’s difficult to parse much among these defenses due to the Week 1 competition but overall, look for the players on the defensive side of the ball to be a bit ahead of their offensive counterparts.
The game plays well as a near-pick-’em, taking the home side with the points and the Under on the total.
PASS.
Against the spread
Tennessee was a minus-2 in the turnover exchange last season. With a lot of new pieces on offense, look for UT to play a bit of a slowed-down, run-oriented game if the Vols can stay within a score.
TAKE TENNESSEE +3.5 (-125).
Over/Under
This game started with Pitt favored by 1.5 or 2 points and with an O/U of 51 at many books. With both offenses being at times capable but rarely explosive, peg those initial digits as being dead on.
BACK THE UNDER 56.5 (-110).
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