College Football ATS Picks - Oklahoma State at Pittsburgh Game Preview

The Oklahoma State Cowboys look like one of the scariest offenses in the country heading into this one. Mason Rudolph and company have blitzed the competition this season, blowing out both Tulsa and South Alabama on the strength of a top-notch passing game. They will be heading to the Steel City to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers this Saturday. It will be a rematch of last season’s tilt between these two sides in Stillwater.

This matchup in Week 3 of the regular season will take place on Saturday, September 16, 2017,

at 12 p.m. ET at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This game will be broadcast on ESPN.

College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Oklahoma State -13.5
Pittsburgh +13.5

Odds Analysis

The Cowboys have outscored their two opponents 103-31 this season. Unsurprisingly, both of those games ended up as covers according to the betting line, but only one went over the total. Oklahoma State and Tulsa engaged in a shootout that sent the game over the total with time to spare, while South Alabama tried a different tack and that led to the game going well under.

Pittsburgh has not impressed anyone with its performance through the first two games. The Panthers toyed with Youngstown State for too long in their season opener and it almost came back to bite them, and they didn’t play very sharp against Penn State. Pitt covered last week if you got the number early in the week, but pushed or lost if you got it later.

Last Year’s Meeting

These two sides played an awesome shootout last season that Oklahoma State won near the very end. Sadly, for Pittsburgh, none of the stars of that game are on the team this year. Nathan Peterman and James Conner are in the NFL, while offensive coordinator Matt Canada is working his magic at LSU.

That’s not the case for Oklahoma State who has Rudolph and James Washington both back for this year’s game. Rudolph threw for 540 yards and two touchdowns against the Pitt defense last season, but those numbers weren’t as impressive as those of his top target. Washington caught nine passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns and scorched the Panthers secondary.

Key Stats

People may be down on the Panthers, but this team could be 2-0 if you dig into the numbers. Pittsburgh controlled the first half against Youngstown State before letting up and the Penguins roared back to send the game to overtime.

Against Penn State, Pittsburgh’s offense outplayed its counterparts. The Panthers finished with more total yards and killed the Nittany Lions in terms of time of possession. They also notched 10 more first downs than their in-state rivals and held Trace McSorley to under six yards per pass attempt.

Many seem to believe that Penn State just blew out Pittsburgh, but that just wasn’t the case. If the Panthers didn’t have the early turnovers that killed them, they could have won this game.

Free ATS Pick

There should be a very high total in this one. Oklahoma State’s defense has yet to prove it can stop someone and Pittsburgh should be able to at least pick up yards on the ground against this defense.

Pittsburgh is one of the most undervalued teams in the country right now. Many observers have discounted them based on watching a couple plays and seeing a box score, but this is a decent football team. The Panthers are hard to beat at home and the Cowboys have the disadvantage of playing consecutive road games.

Look at the line movement if you want evidence of what people think about this Pitt team. The spread opened at 10 and quickly moved to 13.5. This spread could jump to two touchdowns or more and if it hits that number pounce on the Panthers.

College Football Odds: Cowboys 38, Panthers 35

BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!