Penn State at Pittsburgh 2018: Prediction Roundtable

Dylan Burd, Contributor

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s excited, yet nervous to watch Penn State take the field again after last weekend’s game versus Appalachian State. While Penn State looked incredibly bad for the majority of that game, I think a lot of good will come out of it, as it will serve as a wake up call for the Nittany Lions, who have National Championship aspirations.

This team will be fired up at on Saturday night, wanting to prove to the rest of the nation the team they really are. In addition, it helps that this game is against Pitt, another reason why this Penn State team will be fired up.

While it’s possible that this game may be closer than Penn State fans would like in the beginning, I think the Nittany Lions will settle in and control the majority of this football game. It’s definitely true that Appalachian State is at least just as good as Pitt, if not better. While Penn State’s defense was disgraceful vs. Appalachian State, Pitt’s wasn’t much better.

I understand that Pitt only allowed seven points, but they allowed 323 yards to Albany, who are an FCS team. Out of those 323 yards against Pitt, 263 of them were passing yards. Expect Trace McSorely to tear up this Pitt secondary, with KJ Hamler having a huge impact for the second game in a row.

The Penn State defense will still probably look shaky at time during this game, but it is near impossible for them to replicate the horrendous week 1 performance. The secondary will bounce back a bit, with still improvements needed for future games. In the end, I think the Nittany Lions take this one by 13, covering the spread by 4.5 points at Heinz Field.

Penn State 37
Pitt: 24