EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, November 17^th, the (6-4) Pittsburgh Panthers will be on the road to take on the (5-5) Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Pittsburgh 30.4 – Wake Forest 28.3 with an over/under of 58.7.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Wake Forest 24 – Pittsburgh 21.

Mark is predicting a final score of Pittsburgh 30 – Wake Forest 21.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Wake Forest 235.8 YPG > Pittsburgh 139.4 YPG

Rushing offense: Pittsburgh 256.9 YPG > Wake Forest 215.8 YPG

Scoring offense: Wake Forest 31.8 PPG > Pittsburgh 29.7 PPG

Scoring defense: Pittsburgh 29.6 PPG > Wake Forest 35.8 PPG

Passing defense: Pittsburgh 244.9 YPG > Wake Forest 282.7 YPG

Rushing defense: Pittsburgh 172.0 YPG > Wake Forest 203.6 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Pittsburgh +0.2 > Wake Forest -0.4

Summary:

Pittsburgh is (6-4) with wins over Albany, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Duke, #25 Virginia, and Virginia Tech.  They were defeated by #13 Penn State, North Carolina, #13 UCF, and #5 Notre Dame.  Pittsburgh is currently riding a three-game winning streak and are coming off a dominant 52-22 win over Virginia Tech.  The Panthers rank 63^rd in points per game (29.7) and 81^st in scoring defense (29.6 PPG).  Pittsburgh doesn’t have much of a passing game as they’ve thrown for the ninth fewest yards per game.  Kenny Pickett has completed 60% of his passes for 1,379 yards with 9 touchdowns to 5 interceptions. Running back Qadree Ollison is having an excellent season with 1,054 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.  The Panthers’ defense ranks 84^th against the pass (244.9 YPG) and 77^th against the run (172.0 YPG).

Wake Forest is (5-5) with victories over Tulane, Towson, Rice, Louisville, and #14 NC State.  They were defeated by Boston College, #8 Notre Dame, #4 Clemson, Florida State, and #19 Syracuse.  Quarterback Jamie Newman threw a 32-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left to seal a 27-23 win over #14 NC State last week.  The Demon Deacons rank 45^th in points per game (31.8) and 110^th in scoring defense (35.8 PPG).  Quarterback Sam Hartman has completed 55% of his passes for 1,984 yards with 16 touchdowns to 8 interceptions.  Wake Forest has a pair of running backs in Matt Colburn and Cade Carney that have rushed for over 600 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Greg Dortch leads the team in receiving with 921 yards and 7 touchdowns.  The Demon Deacons’ defense ranks 124^th against the pass (282.7 YPG) and 103^rd against the run (203.6 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Pittsburgh comes into a game on a three-game winning streak where they are averaging 43 points per game in that stretch.  Wake Forest, statistically, has been terrible at defending both the pass and the run.  Qadree Ollison will wear down the Wake Forest front over the course of the game and grind out the key yards in crunch time to close out the game.

Pittsburgh wins 28-21

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