Virginia Tech vs Pittsburgh 10/16/21 College Football Picks and Predictions

The Virginia Tech Hokies and Pittsburgh Panthers meet in a week 7 ACC college football battle from Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia on Saturday afternoon.

The Pitt Panthers will be out to build on their 52-21 dismantling of Georgia Tech in their last game. Kenny Pickett has thrown for 1,731 yards, 19 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 72% passing while Israel Abanikanda and Vincent Davis each have 200+ rushing yards this season. Jordan Addison leads the Panthers with 29 catches for 524 yards and 9 touchdowns while Taysir Mack has 302 receiving yards and Jared Wayne has 221 receiving yards. Three other Panthers have at least 100 receiving yards this season. On defense, Brandon Hill has a team-high 28 total tackles while Habakkuk Baldonado has a team-high 3.5 sacks and Phil Campbell III has 3 sacks this season.

The Virginia Tech Hokies will be out to bounce back from a 32-29 loss at the hands of Notre Dame last time out. Braxton Burmeister has thrown for 930 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 picks on 58.8% passing while also leading V-Tech with 189 rushing yards. Tre Turner has a team-high 22 grabs for 330 yards while Tayvion Robinson has 219 receiving yards and Raheem Blackshear and Kaleb Smith each have 100+ receiving yards this season. On defense, Alan Tisdale and Nasir Peoples each have a team-high 3 sacks this season.

Pitt is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 conference games while the over is 6-0 in their last 6 games against a team with a winning record. Virginia Tech is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a loss while the under is 4-1 in their last 5 conference games.

I get the case that could be made for Virginia Tech as Blacksburg is one of the harder road environments for opposing teams to go on the road and get the job done. However, Pitt is legit and Kenny Pickett is a Heisman candidate even though you and I know he probably won’t get the recognition for what he’s done so far this season. I think this is a tough spot for Virginia Tech, even at home, having to get up for this game after the Notre Dame matchup, so I’ll lay it and play it with Pitt here.