2016 Pittsburgh Panthers Football Predictions and Season Win Total Picks

by Robert Ferringo - 8/2/2016

2015 Record: 8-5

2016 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 8.0

2016 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Under'

A bowl game loss to Navy robbed Pittsburgh of its first nine-win campaign in this decade, but the Panthers are primed to top last year's accomplishments in coach Pat Narduzzi's second year. Narduzzi had the unenviable responsibility of being Pitt's seventh coach in four years. But the players responded to his even-handed style, and the Panthers were able to execute at a very high level while wining four straight games by a touchdown or less last fall.

Pitt is hoping that level of execution carries over into 2016. The Panthers have eight starters back on both sides of the ball, and that doesn't include the return of thunderous running back James Conner from injury. Pitt has 12 senior starters and nine three-year starters and is one of the more experienced teams in the nation.

The Panthers have a potentially season-defining three-game stretch in September that has them facing off with in-state rival Penn State before making back-to-back trips to Oklahoma State and North Carolina. They also have back-to-back road games at Miami and at Clemson to start November, and if the Panthers can win just two of those five games they will be in a great position to top their season win total.

How you bet Pitt's season win total depends on the juice your book is offering. Most books have Pittsburgh listed at 7.0 win with standard juice. If that's the case I would take a stab at the 'over' since I would be stunned if they took more than five losses.

5Dimes Sportsbook, on the other hand, has the Panthers win total set at 8.0 with -175 on the 'under'. With that high juice that's an easy 'under' play given that Pitt is much more likely to flop and win six or seven games than they are likely to erupt for a 10-win season.

On the whole, I like this team as a very active underdog. They are tough and disciplined and have several shot to knock off marquee teams . But when it comes to wins, Pitt is still headed for somewhere around 8-5 and a third-tier bowl game.

2016 Pittsburgh Panthers Schedule

DATE	OPPONENT	TIME (ET)	Location	Result
Sat, Sep 3rd, 2016	Villanova	01:30 PM	Heinz Field
Sat, Sep 10th, 2016	Penn_State	12:00 PM	Heinz Field
Sat, Sep 17th, 2016	at Oklahoma_State	03:30 PM	Boone Pickens Stadium
Sat, Sep 24th, 2016	at North_Carolina	12:00 PM	Kenan Memorial Stadium
Sat, Oct 1st, 2016	Marshall	12:00 PM	Heinz Field
Sat, Oct 8th, 2016	Georgia_Tech	12:00 PM	Heinz Field
Sat, Oct 15th, 2016	at Virginia	12:00 PM	David A. Harrison III Field at
Thu, Oct 27th, 2016	Virginia_Tech	07:30 PM	Heinz Field
Sat, Nov 5th, 2016	at Miami_Florida	12:00 PM	Sun Life Stadium
Sat, Nov 12th, 2016	at Clemson	12:00 PM	Memorial Stadium
Sat, Nov 19th, 2016	Duke	12:00 PM	Heinz Field
Sat, Nov 26th, 2016	Syracuse	12:00 PM	Heinz Field

All Times EST

*Season Win Total Odds from 5Dimes Sportsbook.

Robert Ferringo has been the top football handicapper in the country the past five years, earning nearly $13,000 in total football profit with four of six winning seasons. Robert tallied over $20,000 in football profit between 2011 and 2015, including his amazing 2013 NFL season in which he hit 62.1 percent (95-58). Robert has produced 14 of 22 winning football months and an amazing 37 of 57 winning football months over the past decade. Robert has eight of nine winning NFL preseasons and he is at nearly 60 percent winners over his last 750 totals picks. Also, Robert's proprietary KING College Football Betting System has posted three of four winning seasons and is 122-92 over the last three years (57.0 percent).

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Pick:	CHICAGO BEARS +3
Start:	November 24, 2024 @ 1:00 PM
Expert:	Doc's Sports

Analysis:

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #256 Chicago Bears +3 over Minnesota Vikings (1p.m., Sunday, November 24 FOX) We used the Bears as a free play winner last Sunday and easily covered the spread and should have been an underdog outright winner. Now we will ride them for a second straight week against another NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are 8-2 on the season, yet are only around a field goal favorite. I still do not trust Sam Donald to win consistently over the course of a 17 game regular season. Minnesota is not as good as their 8-2 record would indicate and playing outdoors in Chicago on Sunday will cause issues for them on both sides of the ball. Chicago has been hit or miss this season, but they will be up to play another divisional rival and we expect them to take this down to the wire as well. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend Card featuring top plays in college and NFL football. Read More Read Less

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