ACC Championship: #18 Wake Forest vs. #17 Pittsburgh Odds, Best Bets, Prediction

ACC Championship Preview

It’s truly the end of an era in the ACC, as the Clemson Tigers won’t be crowned conference champions in 2021 after a run of six straight titles. Instead, this year’s ACC Championship Game in Charlotte will be played between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Pittsburgh Panthers. This is just the second all-time meeting between the two programs despite Pitt joining the ACC in 2013. The Panthers won that first meeting in 2018, knocking off the Demon Deacons, 34-13, on the road. Pitt is also favored by three points in Saturday’s game with an over/under of 72.5 points.

Pittsburgh Panthers Preview

The Panthers head into the ACC Championship Game on a four-game winning streak. Pitt suffered a surprising loss early in the season to Western Michigan but has won every other game outside of a close loss against Miami. That makes the Panthers 10-2 on the season and hoping to win their first outright conference championship in program history.

If Pitt ends up winning, it’ll likely be on the shoulders of quarterback Kenny Pickett. The senior is looking like he could be a Heisman finalist this year, throwing for over 4,000 yards and helping Pitt score 42.8 points per game, which is 10th nationally. Pitt’s three-headed monster in the backfield has been solid but unspectacular, doing just enough to keep teams from focusing too much on Pickett and the passing game. In addition to his 4,000 yards, Pickett has completed close to 68% of his passes and thrown 40 touchdown passes with just seven interceptions. While the Panthers have a few capable wide receivers, Jordan Addison has undoubtedly been the favorite, amassing over 1,300 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns, so he’ll be a player to watch.

Defensively, the Panthers have been a little up and down this year. While they’ve had some good games, Pitt has allowed at least 29 points in five of 12 games. When the Pitt defense has been hurt this year, it’s usually been through the air against teams with a strong passing attack. Ironically, the Panthers are averaging close to four sacks per game. But when the pass rush doesn’t get there, the Pitt secondary can be vulnerable down the field, which is where teams like Miami and Virginia have had success against the Panthers.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons Preview

It’s been a special season for the Demon Deacons, who started the year 8-0, climbing as high as no. 9 in the rankings. While Wake Forest has lost a couple of games down the stretch, there hasn’t been much of a let-up in the team’s level of play. Like Pitt, the Demon Deacons are 10-2 heading into the ACC Championship Game. Wake Forest is hoping to win its third conference championship in program history and the first since the 2006 season.

The Demon Deacons are also similar to Pitt in that they’ve been led by a potent offense and strong quarterback play all season. Outside of a loss to Clemson, the Demon Deacons have scored at least 35 points in every game this season, averaging 42.9 points per game, which ranks ninth nationally. Quarterback Sam Hartman has had a breakout season, throwing for over 3,700 yards and 34 touchdown passes while also rushing for 10 touchdowns. Keep in mind that Wake Forest has a tricky run scheme that can test the discipline of a defense. The Demon Deacons have used three different running backs with varying levels of success, keeping teams just off-balance enough for Hartman to hurt them through the air with two wide receivers who have over 1,000 receiving yards this year.

Alas, the Demon Deacons have had some problems on the defensive side of the ball this year. Granted, the Wake defense held Boston College to just 10 points last week. But the Demon Deacons have also allowed at least 34 points in six of their last eight games. In those six games, they’ve allowed an average of 45.8 points. Some teams have had success on the ground against Wake Forest while others have beaten the Demon Deacons through the air. In fairness, the Wake Forest defense has made just enough stops to win 10 games. They’ve also forced 27 takeaways and amassed 32 sacks in 12 games, so they can make big plays on that side of the ball despite giving up a lot of yards and a lot of points this year.

ACC Championship Game Prediction

In many ways, these two teams are mirror images of one another. Both have high-powered offenses, great quarterbacks, and vulnerable defenses. As the spread and the over/under suggest, this should be both a close and high-scoring game. If there is a way to distinguish between the two teams, Pickett is a better pure passer than Hartman and the Pitt defense is a little better than the Wake defense with the Panthers not as reliant on takeaways to get stops. While those differences are small, they should give Pitt enough of an edge to capture the ACC title.

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