Austin Peay at Pittsburgh - 9/12/20 College Football Picks and Prediction

Austin Peay Governors (0-0) at Pittsburgh Panthers (0-0)

College Football: Saturday, September 12, 2020 at 4:00 pm (Heinz Field)

The Line: Pittsburgh -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The Austin Peay Governors and the Pitt Panthers face off on Saturday in a non-conference showdown. This is an FCS vs FBS game.

Austin Peay kicked off the college football season two weeks ago, but it wasn’t a memorable one as they were defeated by Central Arkansas. The Governors were able to put up 17 points in the first game, but the offense wasn’t all that impressive. Starting quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall was 14/31 throwing for 181 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. One of the bright spots for the offense was the running game led by CJ Evans Jr who had 10 carries for 98 yards and one touchdown. On defense, Austin Peay did have two interceptions, but they allowed 283 yards through the air. On the ground, Austin Peay gave up 176 yards.

The defense is going to have a tougher job in this game, but if they want any chance to keep this game close, they are going to need the offense to be better. When they have chances to score, Austin Peay can’t be settling for field goals, they need to get into the end zone.

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On the other side of this matchup is the Pitt Panthers who had an interesting season last year. The offense had issues scoring points, but they were still able to come away with eight wins. Quarterback Kenny Pickett is back for his senior season and the hope is he can be more consistent. Last season, Pickett threw almost 3100 yards but he only had 13 touchdown passes. The running game for Pittsburgh wasn’t great, but they have all three lead backs yet.

On defense, Pitt is led by the defensive line who were a problem all season long. The best player on the line was Jaylen Twyman who has opted out, but they still have plenty of other playmakers who are going to be a problem for Austin Peay in this game.

There is no doubt that Pitt is the better team in this game, but their offense isn’t going to be running up the score against many teams. Look for Pitt to come away with a victory but Austin Peay will do enough to keep this game close and cover the spread.

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