Vegas ACC Predictions Week 9 Highlighted by Georgia Tech-Pittsburgh
Saturday Blitz Vegas ACC Predictions Week 9
Game of the Week
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Pittsburgh Panthers
Line: Pittsburgh by 3
Two weeks ago, chalking this up as a toss-up ACC game would have been laughable. Now, well, the story’s not the same. The Yellow Jackets have woken up to reality, and the Panthers have shown they could beat almost anybody in the conference on a good day. With the game in Pittsburgh, this is worth tuning into because it could go any way.
Georgia Tech appears to have woken up to reality over the past couple of weeks. If they’re not turning the ball over, the defense is falling apart. Neither can happen for this team to beat Pittsburgh on the road this Saturday. The Yellow Jackets need to stick to that option offense they run so successfully, and it’s going to be a lot harder this week without Zach Laskey on the line. Still, Thomas is going to have to be the athlete that he is, and he’s also going to need to convert the few times Georgia Tech does pass. On defense, the Yellow Jackets have to focus on stopping the run and making Pittsburgh make mistakes. Then they have to obviously capitalize off of those mistakes. Otherwise, this is going to be another loss for this team.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has all of a sudden found out how to win again after upsetting Virginia Tech. The Panthers are incredibly young and inconsistent with Chad Voytik at quarterback, so the biggest issue for this team right now has to be learning how to win. They have shown that they can win, and they beat the Hokies straight up, without forcing a bunch of Michael Brewer turnovers the way other teams did. If they can keep their heads level and not get overconfident after a win, which is what young teams do, then they’ll be in good shape on Saturday. They need to stick with the running game and James Conner, who’s playing like a superstar, to pull out the win, Voytik has to be efficient, and the defense has to step up the way it has in all of Pitt’s wins.
Prediction
Pittsburgh is actually more talented right now than Georgia Tech and is playing at home. It also has a confident bunch after beating Virginia Tech, as this young team continues to develop. But that confidence will turn to overconfidence. The Panthers are still too young to be able to stay humble after a win, plus they have yet to face a triple-option attack, and it’s going to bite them on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets are more than likely going to be very focused on pulling out the win. So with all of that in mind, Georgia Tech wins in very solid fashion.
Georgia Tech: 31 Pittsburgh: 17