College Football Spread Betting – Pitt vs. Utah

Pittsburgh, the 15th ranked team in the nation, will travel to Salt Lake City in their 2010-11 college football spread betting season opener to play against the unranked Utah Utes, a team that hasn’t lost at home since 2007.

Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Utah Utes

Kickoff: 8:30pm EST on Thursday, September 2

Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT

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TV/Radio: Versus

College Football Game Odds:

Pittsburgh Panthers +3

Utah Utes -3

Total 49.5

Normally, I would go with the ranked road underdog, but in this case, Utah has proven they are almost invincible when backed by their hometown fans.

The Pittsburgh Panthers are coming off a ten victory season, and one that could have easily brought the Panthers to a BCS bowl game had they not lost their final two regular season games by a combined total of four points.

Although only nine scholarship seniors are returning in Pittsburgh, the Panthers remain the consensus favorite to win the Big East title this college football spread betting season.

Much of the Panthers success rests squarely on the shoulders of first year starting quarterback Tino Sunseri. The Utes will no doubt make it difficult for Sunseri to settle in the pocket forcing Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt to turn to running the ball early in this contest.

The key to Utah being able to cover the college football spread in this matchup will be their ability to contain Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis, the Big East offensive player of the year in 2009.

The 2nd year running back ran wild in his freshman season, rushing for 1,799 yards and an astounding 17 touchdowns.

Marshall Mention: Utah is 16-5 in regular season opening games at home.

The Utah defense will be keying in Lewis, stacking the box on first and second down, forcing Sunseri to make plays. With just 17 pass attempts in his college football spread betting career, I don’t foresee success for Sunseri in a hostile road environment.

An opportunistic Utah defense will force a few turnovers early, changing the momentum of the game and limiting Dion Lewis’ touches.

College Football Spread Betting Pick: Utah (-3)