UCLA Bruins (9-3) vs Pittsburgh Panthers (8-4)
Game Info: Friday, December 30, 2022 at 2:00 pm (Sun Bowl)
Betting Odds: UCLA Bruins -5.5 -- Over/Under: 53.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Pittsburgh Panthers will play the UCLA Bruins on Friday afternoon in the college football Sun Bowl at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
The Pittsburgh Panthers are 8-4 this season after they defeated Miami by a score of 42-16 in their last game. Pittsburgh out gained Miami by a total of 510-385 and forced three turnovers in the win. Pittsburgh has won four games in a row and was able to play much better defense towards the end of the season. The Pittsburgh offense is averaging 30.8 points per game with 221.3 passing yards per game and 181.3 rushing yards per game. Kedon Slovis has elected to transfer, so it looks like Nick Patti will get the start at quarterback for this game. Pittsburgh’s best running back, Israel Abanikanda, will also be out for this game. Rodney Hammond Jr. has rushed for 366 yards and three touchdowns, while Jared Wayne (questionable) has caught 55 passes for 1,012 yards and five scores for Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh defense is giving up 23.4 points per game and 319.7 yards per game.
The UCLA Bruins are 9-3 this season after they defeated California by a score of 35-28 in their last game. UCLA out gained Cal by a total of 541-361 and forced two turnovers in the win. UCLA has lost two of their last three games and three of their last six games. The UCLA offense is averaging 39.6 points per game with 261.5 passing yards per game and 246.3 rushing yards per game. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has thrown for 2,883 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while also rushing for 631 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Bruins this season. Zach Charbonnet has rushed for 1,359 yards and 14 scores, while Jake Bobo has caught 54 passes for 789 yards and seven touchdowns for UCLA. The UCLA defense is allowing 28.3 points per game and 399.8 yards per game.
Pittsburgh is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 neutral site games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 bowl games. The over is 8-2 in Pittsburgh’s last 10 games. UCLA is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on turf and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games. The over is 12-5 in UCLA’s last 17 games.
Pittsburgh comes into this game missing a lot of players that have decided to opt-out, while UCLA should be very close to full strength. UCLA’s defense was not good this season, but I don’t see how Pittsburgh will be able to do much on offense with what they are missing. I like UCLA to win this game easily.
David’s Pick UCLA -5.5
AUTHOR: David Racey
Mitch's Take...
