Syracuse at Pitt: Betting Preview and Predictions for Thursday Night ACC Showdown

The Pittsburgh Panthers are looking to move to 3-0 on Thursday night when they host the Syracuse Orange in an ACC showdown at Acrisure Stadium. The Orange will be looking to bounce back following a 21-18 loss to Cal last week, while the Panthers come in off a tight victory, as they held on to beat UCF 12-7. The Syracuse offense was strong in the setback to Cal, but the Orange had three turnovers and missed a field goal that would have tied it with less than two minutes left. Pitt cruised to a 59-14 victory against Miami (Ohio) in Week 1, while Syracuse routed New Hampshire 66-3. The Panthers are 10.5-point favorites at home for the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, while the Over/Under for total points is 51.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook .  Bet on Pittsburgh vs. Syracuse and Week 3 college football at DraftKings and get $200 in bonus bets when you spend $5+:

Anyone who wants to wager on  Pittsburgh vs. Syracuse in Week 3 needs to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say. The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. It is on a 33-21 run on top-rated CFB money-line picks on  betting sites  since the 2024 season, and it has been upgraded for the 2026 season to better factor in the transfer portal. Anybody following its picks on  college football betting sites  could have seen strong returns.

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh betting odds (via DraftKings)

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh money line: Syracuse +320, Pittsburgh -410 Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh over/under: 51.5 (Over -105, Under -115) Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh spread:  Pittsburgh -10.5

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh betting preview

These teams started playing each other in 1916 and have faced off every year since 1955, with the Panthers leading the all-time series 45-32-3. Pitt has won 20 of the past 24 games, with one loss in double overtime and another by one point. Pitt won the most recent meeting 30-13 at Syracuse last October in a penalty-filled game that saw the Panthers come away with three takeaways.

Current Panthers starter Mason Heintschel threw for 140 yards with an interception and rushed for 23 yards in that game as a freshman. This season, Heintschel has completed 70% of his passes for 665 yards, with seven TD passes and no interceptions. Receivers Cataurus Hicks and Censere Lee are both over 100 receiving yards across the first two games, and they are among the seven different pass-catchers who have scored a touchdown. Freshman running back Damon Ferguson rushed for 59 yards and the team's lone score against the Golden Knights.

Pitt went 8-4 (6-2 in ACC) and lost to East Carolina in the Military Bowl last season, while Syracuse was 3-9 and won one of its eight ACC games, beating Clemson 34-21 in the conference opener. The Panthers played solid defense in 2025, finishing in the middle of the pack in the ACC in allowing 330.4 yards and 24.8 points per game. The Orange defense was last in scoring (34.9 ppg) and second-to-last in total yards (427.7). Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's offense was second in the ACC in scoring at 33.7 points per game, while only two ACC teams scored fewer than Syracuse's 20.2 points per contest.

The Orange offense was a completely different unit with Steve Angeli as the starting quarterback in the first four games last season. They started 3-1, and he threw for 1,372 yards with 10 TD passes and just two interceptions. The former Notre Dame backup tore his Achilles after throwing for 245 yards and two scores in the Clemson game. The senior is back now and has 570 passing yards and four touchdown passes so far, though he threw the three picks last week.

Pitt is 1-1 against the spread this season after the Panthers went 8-4 ATS in the regular season in 2025. They were 4-0 ATS as home favorites and 6-2 ATS as favorites overall. The Orange also have been at home for both games so far and are 1-1 against the spread after going 4-8 ATS overall last season. They were 3-2 ATS as a road underdog and finished the season 6-6 on Over/Under plays, going 4-1 to the Over on the road. The Panthers went 3-1 to the Over as home favorites and 7-6 O/U for the season. Both teams are 1-1 on Over/Under wagers this season.

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Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh picks, prediction

Under 51.5 points

Both of these offenses appear to be capable, but neither looked great last week. This is also a longtime rivalry, so the game will likely start off slowly. The Pitt defense should be fired up at home, and the Panthers have won seven of the past eight meetings. The Orange have been haunted by penalties in the first two games, with 15 last week (for 132 yards) giving them 26 for the season. They are averaging 42 points per game while Pitt is averaging 35.5, and both are averaging more than 375 total yards, but this will be a different ballgame. The SportsLine Projection Model is leaning toward an  Over/Under bet , and the outcome could be similar to what we saw last year. Under 51.5 hits in 54.8% of the model's simulations , with the projected score coming in at 30-19 in favor of the Panthers. They win in a whopping 73% of the 10,000 simulations.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/betting/news/syracuse-vs-pittsburgh-odds-picks-predictions-betting-preview-start-time-for-week-3-college-football/)._