The Pittsburgh Panthers and the Northwestern Wildcats move their programs to Yankee Stadium to compete in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. The featured game is slated to start on Wednesday, December 28th at 2 p.m. ET and will be telecast on the ESPN Network. As of this article, Vegas insiders have the Panthers as a -5.5 point favorite and the game’s over/under sits at 65.
The Panthers claimed a couple of outstanding victories this season, beating Penn State which finished fifth in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Pittsburgh also found themselves one the winning end of their match-up against the Clemson Tigers. The latter win set-off a three-game winning streak for the Panthers, who have been putting plenty of points on the board lately.
Pittsburgh (8-4):
Head coach Pat Narduzzi is familiar with the BIG-10 after being the defensive coordinator for the Spartans before accepting the job with Pittsburgh. However, the defense hasn’t been the story lately for the Panthers. Offensively, Pittsburgh has scored 175 points during their three-game run, while overcoming the 117 they’ve allowed.
The Panthers closed out 2016 with a 644 total yard performance in a 76-61 win over Syracuse. Quarterback Nathan Peterman threw four touchdown passes on only nine completions for 254 yards. This year, he has accumulated 2,600 yards with 26 touchdowns and six picks.
ESPN’s Comeback Player of the Year James Connor led the way for the nation’s 26th ranked rushing attack. The durable tail back rumbled and stumbled his way to 1,060 yards on 208 carries and a team-high 16 trips to the promised land. Quadree Henderson also pitched in with 555 yards and five scores.
Nathan Peterman utilized all of the positions when tossing the rock around the field on Saturdays. Wide receiver Jester Weah caught 34 passes for 794 yards and nine touchdowns. Tight end Scott Orndorff grabbed 33 balls for 558 yards and five scores. Pitt’s two running backs also caught 43 passes for 540 yards and five more end zone appearances.
Defensively, the Panthers defense left a lot to be desired when all was said and done. The unit finished 109th in the country allowing 35.6 yards a game. The secondary was especially porous, giving way to 343 yards per game (127th). On the bright side, Pittsburgh did boast the nation’s 9th best run stop, surrendering only 108.9 yards per contest.
Northwestern (6-6):
The Wildcat’s inconsistent offense scored at least 42 points in two of its last three matches to beat the Fighting Illini in their final regular-season game to reach 500. Although they were mediocre, Northwestern will be playing in their first bowl game in three years.
Starting signal-caller Clayton Thorson looked as though he was going to be one of the BIG-10’s premier passers at the mid-way point in the season. It wasn’t to be, and he finished the year with decent but not electrifying numbers heading into the Pinstripe bowl. For the year, Thorson completed over 250 passes for almost 3,000 yards with 21 scores and eight picks.
Running back Justin Jackson solidified the Wildcats ground game, keeping opposing defenses from keying-off on Clayton Thorson. The talented back scampered for 1,300 yards on 266 carries and 12 touchdowns. He ended up four yards shy of Wisconsin’s Corey Clement as the BIG-10’s leading rusher.
Wide receiver Austin Carr proved to the nation that he will be playing on Sundays. The unheralded wide out broken open for almost 1,200 yards on 84 catches and another 12 trips to pay-dirt. Slot back Garrett Dickerson had a nose for the end zone, also nabbing 29 balls for four touchdowns.
The Wildcats defensive numbers are a lot like their oppositions. This year, the front seven was solid, holding teams to 136 yards a game (32nd). The similarity between the two also shows in the back half, as Northwestern’s secondary allowed 264.9 yards a game through the air (108th).
Trends and Notes:
The Panthers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 bowl games.
The Wildcats are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
The Over is 4-0 in the Panthers last 4 Bowl games.
The Under is 11-5 in the Wildcats last 16 games overall.
The Penn State Nittany Lions beat the Boston College Eagles in overtime in the 2014 New Era Pinstripe bowl 31-30.
The Duke Blue Devils bested the Indiana Hoosiers 44-41 in a wild overtime thriller in last year’s New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
Game Predictions:
Nobody in the country expected the Pitt Panthers to continue to churn out points throughout the season. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh answered the call and come into this contest with the nation’s 10th ranked offense.
Northwestern hit a wall two thirds through the season, and finished shaky down the stretch. That being said, they competed fiercely in what could be the best conference in the country. The lethal combination of Clay Thorson to Austin Carr can and will score on the Panthers 127th ranked pass defense.
Except for opening day against FCS Villanova, the Panthers have hit every over that Vegas has dialed-up. With the Wildcat’s ability to move the ball through the air, it’s a recipe to repeat itself once again. Enjoy points-a-plenty in another Pitt contest and take the over 64.
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