Big East Football Previews – Buffalo Bulls vs Pittsburgh Panthers
The Buffalo Bulls out of the Eastern Division of the Mid-American Conference open their 2011 football campaign against the Pittsburgh Panthers from the Big East this Saturday night at Heinz Field. The game is slated to start at 6 p.m. and it will be available on ESPN3.com.
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 3 6 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA.
Broadcast: ESPN3.com
Bulls @ Panthers Lines by BetOnline.com
Pointspread: Panthers – 29 ½
Over/Under: 52
Click here for the ATS Gambling Report for this game!
Buffalo comes into this season with long odds to even be competitive in its own conference at 12/1 to win the East and 35/1 to win the MAC. It is coming off a woeful 2-10 record overall in 2010 and a 1-3 record straight-up in non-conference play.
The Bulls return nine starters from an offense that ranked at the bottom of Division IA with just 14.2 points a game. They scored 10 or few points in five of those games and their 31-0 rout of Rhode Island in last season’s opener was their highest offensive output of the year.
Pittsburgh is looking to erase the disappointment of an 8-5 record on a team that played well below its expectations. Head coach Dave Wannstedt is gone and Todd Graham has been charged with bringing this program back into the mix in the national rankings. The odds makers are not that bullish that he can get it done this season, as the Panthers are just the third favorite to win the Big East at 7/2. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
They will have Tino Sunseri back at quarterback, who should do a great job at running Graham’s fast-paced no-huddle offense. Sunseri threw for 2,372 yards last season while completing an impressive 65 percent of his passes.
Graham will also look to revamp the defense by switching to a 3-3-5 scheme to better utilize a secondary that remains basically intact from last year including safety Jarred Holley and cornerback Antwuan Reed, who is probably the best cover corner in the conference.
Buffalo is just 1-9 against the spread in its last 10 games and the total has stayed ‘under’ in five of its last six games. Pitt is 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 games and the total has stayed ‘under’ in four of its last six games. These two teams last met in 2009 with the Panthers coming away with a 54-27 victory as a 10.5 road favorite. The total went well over the 43.5 closing line.
The Bulls are way out of their weight class in this one as Pittsburgh will look to make an immediate statement with a big win in its home opener.
Betting Trends:
BUFF are 2-11 ATS in their last 13 vs. Big East.
BUFF are 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games overall.
Under is 8-3 in BUFF last 11 vs. Big East.
PITT are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
The Pick: Pittsburgh 42 Buffalo 13
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