The Syracuse Orange take on the Pitt Panthers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Sept. 17. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Pitt is favored by -9.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -410. Syracuse, meanwhile, enters as a +9.5 underdog and is +315 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 51.5 total points.
Here’s my Syracuse vs. Pitt prediction and college football pick for Thursday, September 17.
Syracuse vs Pitt Prediction
- Syracuse vs. Pitt Pick: Under 51.5 or Better
My Pitt vs. Syracuse best bet is on the under. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Syracuse vs Pitt Odds
| Syracuse Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9.5 -102 | 51.5 -110o / -110u | +315 |
| Pittsburgh Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9.5 -120 | 51.5 -110o / -110u | -410 |
- Syracuse vs Pitt point spread: Pitt -9.5 (-120), Syracuse +9.5 (-102)
- Syracuse vs Pitt over/under: 51.5 (-110o / -110u)
- Syracuse vs Pitt moneyline: Syracuse +315, Pitt -410
Syracuse vs Pitt College Football Preview
Syracuse Orange Betting Preview
Without Steve Angeli, Syracuse appeared to be the worst power-conference team in the country.
Now that Angeli is back on the field, the Orange are significantly better — on both offense and defense, thanks to an ability for the offense to actually sustain some drive — but that ceiling appears to be capped.
Slow and steady won the race for Cal, which scored one touchdown per quarter after the first and recorded a 21-18 win on the road despite picking up just 40% of available yards.
Angeli was overwhelmed (a lack of playmakers out wide didn’t help as five-star WR Calvin Russell III hasn’t played yet this year) and threw three interceptions. He didn’t see the field overly well, but did flash some gunslinger ability with eight graded big-time throws, per PFF.
As Angeli continues to work his way back from sitting out most of 2025, I anticipate he reads the field better and cuts down on the “never-saw-him” interceptions from underneath.
But Syracuse needs players in other aspects to step up.
Defensively, Fran Brown’s team has made a complete 180º. Last year’s unit was decimated by injuries and once the team knew what it was without Angeli at the helm, demeanor crashed and you saw it flat-out giving up at times (see: 70-7 vs. Notre Dame). It’s a team-wide virus that spreads quickly.
Syracuse begins a tough stretch of games Thursday: at Pitt, at UConn and at Virginia in its next three with a Week 4 bye. Russell probably misses until after that bye week.
Pitt Panthers Betting Preview
It wasn’t pretty in a weather-delayed game, but Pitt managed to scrape out a 12-7 win over UCF at a rain-soaked Acrisure Stadium last week. Surprisingly, neither team committed a turnover, but they did combine to go 9-for-31 on third down (UCF went 0-for-3 on fourth down).
So now we’re left with two vastly different data points, making Week 3 a challenging handicap. In Week 1, QB Mason Heintschel threw for over 450 yards en route to a 59-13 beatdown of Miami (OH). In Week 2, Pitt managed to gain just 315 team yards.
In both games, Pitt did exhibit one weakness – early downs were very hit-or-miss. Early in drives, OC Kade Bell dialed up conservative calls and, if the individual player didn’t break a few tackles, Pitt found itself in third-and-medium or worse on just about every drive.
In the first half against Miami, the Panthers averaged 3rd & 8, but Bell made adjustments and in the second half, they almost never saw third down at all. Against UCF, Pitt went three-and-out in half of its second-half possessions and didn’t score a point.
On defense, Pitt’s held its opponents to a conversion on less than 27% of third-down attempts, evening the playing field. Part of that comes from a good pass rush led by Nick James (nine pressures) and Jimmy Scott (four pressures and a sack).
Syracuse vs Pitt Pick, Betting Analysis
The old Pitt-Syracuse rivalry writes its 81st chapter this Thursday – a rivalry that’s played continuously since 1955 (even during the 2020 COVID season). Pitt leads the all-time series 45-32-3 thanks to a string of 18 wins in the last 21 seasons.
This line opened last week favoring Pitt by 10.5 points and lining the over/under at 59.5. After a couple underwhelming offensive outputs in Week 2, the total re-opened at 56 and was swiftly bet down to 51.5.
In six of the last seven games between Pitt and Syracuse, the total went under — most of the time, well under, averaging 41 combined points per game.
We’re also looking at the potential for rain and thunderstorms Thursday night. That both threatens the total and the possibility of this game getting delayed at various points throughout the evening. Keep your eye on evolving weather forecasts.
Syracuse has run an up-tempo approach this year, averaging a new play every 23 seconds (11th-fastest) despite a 66-3 blowout win over New Hampshire and that 21-18 loss to Cal.
But it’s a team that’s shown a propensity to turn the football over, and the Cal game featured 132 penalty yards — inexcusable for a team operating on the margins.
Despite the quick tempo and despite the total already having come crashing down, I’m playing under 51.5 points with the threat of more rain for two pass-heavy approaches.
Neither one is particularly great on third down and, when their receivers can’t wriggle open, the offenses crash fast.
Pick: Under 51.5 or Better
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