Pittsburgh Panthers vs Toledo Rockets Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/26/2024

Game Time: 2:00 pm ET, Thursday, December 26, 2024

Venue:  Ford Field, Detroit, MI

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Pittsburgh -7, Toledo +7; Over/Under:  51 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Pittsburgh -7, Toledo +7; Over/Under:  51 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Pittsburgh -7, Toledo +7; Over/Under:  51 points

Pittsburgh Panthers:  7-5 (3-5) (10th place, ACC)

Toledo Rockets:  7-5 (4-4) (6th place, MAC)

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Pittsburgh Panthers:  lost their last game on the road against the Boston College Eagles 34-23.

Toledo Rockets:  lost their last game on the road against the Akron Zips 21-14 in overtime.

Pittsburgh is entering this game with a 7-5 record overall and they have a 3-5 record in their conference games too. They are 5-2 in their home games, 2-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Boston College 34-23. Nate Yarnell was the starting QB and he completed 23/42 passes for 296 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Derrick Davis Jr. led the team in rushing yards with 21. Konata Mumpfield led the receivers with 144 receiving yards on 8 receptions and 1 TD. Rashad Battle led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Rasheem Biles, Nate Matlack, and Jimmy Scott each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Toledo is entering this game with a 7-5 record overall and they have a 4-4 record in their conference games too. They are 4-2 in their home games, 3-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Akron 21-14 in OT. Tucker Gleason was the starting QB and he completed 31/44 passes for 289 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Connor Walendzak led the team in rushing yards with 87. Junior Vandeross III led the receivers with 84 receiving yards on 11 receptions. Daniel Bolden led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles while Cavon Butler and Martez Poynter each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Pittsburgh listed as a 7 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Pittsburgh has looked good in their games this season with their 7-5 record overall which was enough to get them to this game, but their 3-5 conference record has them in the bottom half of the ACC. They had a great start to the season as they were 7-0 overall at one point, but they took a turn for the worse at the end of the regular season, losing 5 games in a row now. Meanwhile, Toledo has looked good in their games this season with their 7-5 record overall, but their 4-4 conference record has them lower in the MAC. They haven't looked good in their games lately either, ending the regular season with a loss to Akron who was one of the worst teams in the conference all year. They ended the regular season with 2 losses in a row and their offense looked terrible in those games too. Pitt wasn't great down the stretch as they completely collapsed after their first loss of the season, but they still have more talent on their team and will be looking to end the year with a positive. They have the much better defense too and even though they lost 5 games in a row to end the regular season, they weren't getting blown out in a lot of those games. Pitt will be able to put up a ton of points in this game and their defense won't allow Toledo to keep this game close. The best way to place a bet here is on Pittsburgh to cover the spread in this game. 

Pittsburgh Toledo Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Thursday, December 26, 2024 (2:00 pm ET start time) is Pittsburgh 34 Toledo 17.

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Pittsburgh Panthers: 4-1 ATS after a bye week. 9-2 1H ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. 7-4 1H ATS after a game with a turnover margin of -2 or worse. 8-4 1H UNDER in games played on turf. 10-6 1H UNDER after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses.

Toledo Rockets: 17-23 ATS in all lined games. 4-10 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 4-10 ATS when playing against a team with a winning record. 13-4 UNDER after playing their last game on the road. 5-1 UNDER after scoring 14 points or less last game. 10-4 UNDER when playing against a team with a winning record.

Pittsburgh Panthers:  D. Reid (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. E. Holstein (QB) Questionable - Ankle. D. Carter (RB) Out - Leg. C. Lee (WR) Out - Undisclosed. B. Taylor (OL) Out - Knee.

Toledo Rockets:  R. Orr (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. Z. Lang (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. L. Shamma (DT) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Winner (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Huss (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Peters (OLB) Questionable - Undisclosed. E. McNeil-Warren (SAF) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Perkins (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. L. Pawlak (K) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Wilson (OLB) Questionable - Undisclosed. G. Schwiebert (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. W. Peart (DT) Questionable - Undisclosed. L. Laroche (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Fuller (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Ford (DE) Questionable - Undisclosed. P. Reasonover (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. D'Appolonia (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. Z. Bailey (LS) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Allen (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed.

“Nate got banged up on the first drive of the game. We went out there, he said: ‘I think I broke my wrist.’ That's what he felt like. But he's a tough son-of-a-gun and I appreciate our players' effort.” - Pat Narduzzi after his team’s loss against BC in their regular season finale. 

“You’re talking about guys who have lived through some really hard moments here at Toledo. You’ve got guys who went through losing a teammate (Jahneil Douglas in 2020), you’ve got guys who went through COVID, you’ve got guys who went through multiple injuries that have taken seasons away from them. You’ve got guys who have won championship games, you’ve got guys who have lost championship games. They’ve stayed the course. They’ve viewed prosperity and adversity as the same thing and have tried to learn lessons from both sides of that. So I want to put this team in a great position to help our seniors win their last football game. They should leave here with a great memory.” - Jason Candle on playing in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

WR Johnson, Kenny 

WR Lee, Censere

WR Williams Jr., Raphael 

TE Bartholomew, Gavin 

QB Holstein, Eli

RB Reid, Desmond

WR Holley III, Eric

WR Newton, Jerjuan

WR Vandeross III, Junior 

TE Torres, Anthony 

QB Gleason, Tucker

RB Clark, Sevaughn

Passing: E. Holstein (2228)

Rushing: D. Reid (797)

Receiving: K. Mumpfield (813)

Touchdowns: D. Reid (8)

Passing: T. Gleason (2457)

Rushing: C. Walendzak (457)

Receiving: J. Newton (949)

Touchdowns: J. Newton (11)

Coaches:

Pittsburgh Panthers: Pat Narduzzi (10th season)

Toledo Rockets: Jason Candle (10th season)