UCF vs. Pitt fearless prediction and game preview.
UCF vs. Pitt Broadcast
Date: Saturday, September 21
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
Network: ABC/ESPN2
– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions
UCF (3-0) vs. Pitt (1-2) Game Preview
Why UCF Will Win
USC didn’t just beat Stanford when it got the chance to show up against a Power Five program, it won in a blowout getting up 38-7 in the first half.
The team is just that good.
The explosion is there, with QB Dillon Gabriel stepping up and hitting the Cardinal defense for 347 yards and four scores, and the ground game almost hit the 200-yard mark.
This is a horrible matchup for the Panthers’ defensive style that leaves their corners on an island. The UCF speed on the outside is going to be too much with too many home run opportunities there to be hit.
Does Pitt have the offense to keep up? The passing game was able move the ball a bit on Penn State, but it doesn’t have the big downfield attack to worry about, averaging fewer than 11 yards per pass. With the worst rushing attack among ACC teams, there’s nothing there to settle things down if the Knights go off. But …
Why Pitt Will Win
For good, UCF doesn’t do anything when it comes to the time of possession battle – it scores too quickly. However, what if Pitt is able to grind a bit?
Pitt held the ball for over 34 minutes against the Nittany Lions last week, and it has to do it again. It will.
There wasn’t any running game against Penn State, but UCF’s defensive front can be pounded on a bit. There weren’t any problems against Florida Atlantic, but Stanford averaged over five yards per carry – it had to abandon the ground attack after getting down so fast.
The Pitt secondary will get toasted once in a while with its style of play, but it did a decent job against Penn State of winning its share of battles, too.
There might be other options in case there’s a problem, but Dillon Gabriel is still a freshman and he’s going on the road to deal with a defense that came up with three sacks and plenty of pressure against Penn State.
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What’s Going To Happen
UCF will once again flex a little muscle.
The Knights rolled past the Panthers 45-14 last season and it barely made a blip on the national radar – even though Pitt ended up playing in the ACC Championship. This year’s win will barely get noticed, too.
The Panthers will keep the score down for a while, but the offense won’t have the punch needed to keep up once the UCF offense starts bombing away. The Pitt defensive backs are going to be in for a long day.
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UCF vs. Pitt Prediction, Line
UCF 30 Pitt 14
Line: UCF -12, o/u: 58
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Must See Rating: 3
5: Ford v Ferrari
1: Dora and the Lost City of Gold
NEXT: Each Team’s Schedule, Predictions So Far
Each Team’s Schedule, Predictions So Far
2019 Pitt Football Schedule
2019 Record: 1-2
2019 Preseason Prediction: 5-7
2019 Preseason ACC Prediction: 3-5
2018 Record: 7-7
Aug. 31 Virginia L 30-14
Sept. 7 Ohio W 20-10
Sept. 14 at Penn State L 17-10
Sept. 21 UCF L
Sept. 28 Delaware W
Oct. 5 at Duke L
Oct. 12 OPEN DATE
Oct. 18 at Syracuse L
Oct. 26 Miami L
Nov. 2 at Georgia Tech L
Nov. 9 OPEN DATE
Nov. 14 North Carolina W
Nov. 23 at Virginia Tech L
Nov. 30 Boston College W
2019 UCF Football Schedule
2019 Record: 3-0
2019 Preseason Prediction: 10-2
2019 Preseason AAC Prediction: 7-1
2018 Record: 12-1
Aug. 29 Florida A&M W 62-0
Sept. 7 at Florida Atlantic W 48-14
Sept. 14 Stanford W 45-27
Sept. 21 at Pitt W
Sept. 28 UConn W
Oct. 4 at Cincinnati W
Oct. 12 OPEN DATE
Oct. 19 East Carolina W
Oct. 26 at Temple W
Nov. 2 Houston L
Nov. 8 at Tulsa W
Nov. 16 OPEN DATE
Nov. 23 at Tulane W
Nov. 29 USF W
