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.
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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. 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.
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