Navy at Pittsburgh Odds

Written by Kyle Hunter

navy-pitt-odds-091809 The Navy Midshipmen and the Pittsburgh Panthers are both programs that have been up and coming over the last few years. Navy has made a bowl game for six seasons in a row and the Midshipmen have really become a very disciplined team that has perfected the option offense under head coach Ken Niumatalolo. Pittsburgh is dealing with a major loss from last year’s team because LeSean McCoy opted to go pro after the conclusion of last season. Pittsburgh has rolled quite nicely through its first two games of the season, but the competition level hasn’t exactly been top of the line.

Navy has a solid leader in quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who is a much better passing quarterback than many of the recent Navy quarterbacks have been. The junior quarterback is a strong runner who also possesses the ability to throw the difficult pass. The triple option is still being run, and being run to perfection at Navy. The Midshipmen and their coaching staff make it very difficult to defend their offense because of all the options the quarterback has on every play. The offensive line is very skilled at cut blocking in order to free up the corner and let the quarterback utilize all of his options. Navy fell just short in their season opener, almost upending Ohio State in a game where the Midshipmen made a furious charge late in the fourth quarter. Last week Navy fell behind Louisiana Tech 14-0, but went on to score 32 straight points and roll to victory. Clearly this is a Navy team that fights until the final whistle and is able to make adjustments during the game.

Dave Wannstedt and the Pitt Panthers football program have made a bit of a resurgence in the last year or so after suffering through a rough period. The question many fans have now is can the Pitt Panthers continue to have success after the loss of LaSean McCoy? This Saturday’s game against Navy will be the team’s first real test this season that should give us some hints at how the team may fare this season. Bill Stull has been the subject of much scrutiny for the Panthers at the quarterback spot, but thus far this season he has taken good care of the football and stayed within the offense very well. Fortunately for the Panthers they have a talented freshman running back by the name of Dion Lewis who has burst onto the scenes. Lewis is averaging over 7 yards per carry and racked up 190 yards last week against Buffalo.

The college football odds makers have pegged Pittsburgh as a 7.5 point home favorite in this contest. Pittsburgh probably has a deeper pool of talent, but they are untested and they are quite young. Navy has a more experienced team and the more mature team. Look for lots of rushing yards to be gained in this contest, and the team who controls the line of scrimmage on both sides to win the game. A Navy team that fights as hard as it does until the final whistle is tough to go against when you are getting 7.5 points. This will be an interesting matchup of two differing styles, but two teams who both need to be able to run the football effectively.

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