← Matchups

Syracuse

ACC · 1-1 (0-1 ACC) · power +5.2 · #122
Our side · spreadPITT -9.5 our number PITT -13.8 · 4.3 pts from the market our number starts from the opening line and is corrected -3.3 for this matchup by our data on both teams

Pittsburgh

ACC · 2-0 · power +20.6 · #34
Our side
SpreadPITT -9.5 ours PITT -13.8
TotalUnder 53.5 ours 52.5
MoneylinePITT to win ours 83% · book 74%
Distance from the market 4.3 pts / -1.0 total a caution, not a signal
Projected score 19–33 SYR – PITT
2026-09-17 · 7:30 PM Acrisure Stadium · Pittsburgh, PA ACC game 72°F · wind 8 NNW · 0% precip · Overcast Clouds Early season

The books 3 account books · tap any price — the ticket builds at that book

Book SYR spreadPITT spread OverUnder SYR winPITT win SYR TT overSYR TT under PITT TT overPITT TT under
DraftKings
FanDuel
ESPN Bet

The gold price is the best available on that side; a gold marks the side our number implies — a read, not a pick. TT is a team total — that team’s own points, not the game’s; columns are empty where no book hangs one. Send to book opens whichever book you tapped, not the one we would have picked. Prices are the books’ own.

Ours vs the market

SpreadPittsburgh -13.8
the marketPittsburgh -9.5
Total52.5
the market53.5
Pittsburgh win83% vs 74%

Both percentages are Pittsburgh’s chance to win — ours, then the book’s with the vig removed, medianed across the books we track.

What the gap has been worth 10,740 games · 2016–2025

0–3 pts52.0%
3–750.2%
7–1449.3%
14+46.8%

How often the side we favoured covered, by how far our number sat from the market’s. Break-even at −110 is 52.4% — no bucket reaches it, and the rate falls as we disagree more. The further we sit from the market, the worse we have done.

Series Pittsburgh lead 45–33–3 · 81 meetings since 1916
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Pittsburgh Panthers 220 ranks
Syracuse Orange #232 rush offense Pittsburgh Panthers #12 run defense
Pass game edge Pittsburgh Panthers 159 ranks
Syracuse Orange #260 pass offense Pittsburgh Panthers #101 pass defense
Run game edge Pittsburgh Panthers 106 ranks
Pittsburgh Panthers #148 rush offense Syracuse Orange #254 run defense
Pass game edge Pittsburgh Panthers 182 ranks
Pittsburgh Panthers #70 pass offense Syracuse Orange #252 pass defense
Syracuse Orange Balanced · 51% run Ball-control Pittsburgh Panthers Balanced · 47% run Ball-control
Fran Brown · 13-12 Pat Narduzzi · 80-61

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Syracuse Orange
WR Umari Hatcher 14 rec · 224 yds · 2 TD #38 WR
TE Daunte Bacheyie 6 rec · 85 yds · 2 TD #21 TE
LB Chris D'Appolonia 15 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL #111 LB
RB Shavane Anderson Jr. 120 rush yds · 3 TD #148 RB
Pittsburgh Panthers
QB Mason Heintschel 665 pass yds · 7 TD · 0 INT #23 QB
DL Isaiah Neal 4 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #160 DL
WR Cataurus Hicks 8 rec · 178 yds · 1 TD #117 WR
RB Damon Ferguson Jr. 81 rush yds · 1 TD · 6 rec #94 RB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Syracuse OrangeACC +5.2 +1.5 +3.7 #122
Pittsburgh PanthersACC +20.6 +10.2 +10.4 #34

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Syracuse offense vs Pittsburgh defense-8.9 pts
Pittsburgh offense vs Syracuse defense+6.5 pts

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Forecast is context. Wind is the weather variable that moves scoring (~1.5 total points per 10 mph in our data), so it enters through the totals model once that is built and gated — it does not affect the spread.