Yellow Jacked Up
Fansided

Georgia Tech Football: Jackets Open as Near Touchdown Underdogs to Pitt

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins reacts prior to the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on October 19, 2019. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins reacts prior to the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on October 19, 2019. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Georgia Tech football team will look for their fourth win of the season this upcoming Thursday at Bobby Dodd Stadium against the Pittsburgh Panthers but Vegas appears to not be all too confident in the Yellow Jackets.

The Yellow Jackets have opened as six-point underdogs to the Pittsburgh Panthers for Thursday’s matchup, it marks the ninth game this season in which the Jackets have opened as underdogs for a game. The only time the Jackets were favorited this season was against Syracuse, as 7.5-point favorites.

The Jackets are coming off a 23-13 loss to North Carolina State that saw the offense put up more yards than their opponent but struggles in the red zone played a major part in the Jacket’s sixth loss of the season.

The Panthers this season are 5-5 overall and 1-3 on the road. Against the spread, they’re 3-6-1 overall including 2-3 in their last five. The last time out for Pittsburgh was two weeks ago against Clemson, a 52-17 loss in which they failed to cover a 24.5 point spread.

All-time, Thursday will be the 16th matchup between the two schools with Pittsburgh holding the all-time series lead at 9-5. The two schools have only been meeting yearly since 2013, Pitt’s second season in the ACC. Since Pitt’s entrance into the conference, the Panthers have a slight edge over the Yellow Jackets, winning four of seven matchups including each of the last two. Against the spread in those seven matchups, the Yellow Jackets are 3-4.

Offensively, the Yellow Jackets and Panthers are very similar, the Jackets averaging 24.3 points and 366 yards while the Panthers are averaging 28.5 points and 394 yards. The Jackets, however, have the advantage in yards per play at 5.66 yards while the Panthers are averaging an even 5.0 yards per play.

Defensively, is where the two teams are separated, the Panthers the last few years have had quality to really good defenses. This season, their defense has been a slight disappointment but they are still putting up decent numbers. They’re allowing 25 points per game and just under 350 yards per game on the season. Opposing defenses have struggled to run the ball on them, only allowing 93 yards on the ground per contest but have been able to throw the ball pretty well, as they’ve allowed nearly 250 passing yards per game. Unfortunately, for the Yellow Jackets, that plays right into their weaknesses as the Jackets offense features a much better rushing attack than passing attack. Comparatively, the Yellow Jackets defense is allowing 37.1 points per game this season and over 400 yards of total offense.

The Yellow Jackets and Panthers are set to kickoff on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium on ESPN3.