Week 3: Western Michigan vs Pittsburgh 9/17/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds
Pittsburgh Panthers (1-1) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (0-2)
September 17, 2022 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: Western Michigan Broncos +19 / Pittsburgh Panthers -10; Over/Under: +54.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Western Michigan Broncos and Pittsburgh Panthers clash Saturday in week 3 college football action from Waldo Stadium.
The Pitt Panthers will be looking to rebound from a 34-27 OT loss to Tennessee last time out. Kedon Slovis has thrown for 503 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception on 62.5% passing while Israel Abanikanda has a team-high 169 rushing yards this season. Jared Wayne leads Pitt’s receiving group with 171 receiving yards while Konata Mumpfield has 9 catches for 105 receiving yards this season. On defense, Brandon Hill has a team-high 15 total tackles with 10 solo tackles while M.J. Devonshire has an interception and Pitt’s defense has a combined 6 sacks so far this season.
The Western Michigan Broncos started conference play right with a 37-30 win over Ball State last time out. Jack Salopek has thrown for 423 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 58.2% passing while Sean Tyler has 176 rushing yards and La’Darius Jefferson has 97 rushing yards as well this season with the two combining for 5 rushing TDs so far this season. Corey Crooms leads WMU’s receiving group with 15 catches for 143 yards while Jehlani Galloway has 113 receiving yards as well this season. On defense, Zaire Barnes has a team-high 16 total tackles while Andre Carter has the Broncos’ lone sack and Keni-H Lovely has WMU’s lone INT as well.
Pitt is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 road games and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS loss while the over is 5-1 in their last 6 games in September. Western Michigan is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against the ACC and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in September while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games against the ACC.
I went back and forth on this one, and this will be Western Michigan’s first home game, but I’m still looking at Pitt, mainly because we saw how this Broncos team fared against a step up team like Michigan State, losing by 22 points. Pitt is a lot close to Michigan state for Western Michigan than division rival Ball State is. I look for Pitt to run past the Broncos on the way to a win and cover here.
