The No. 12 Pittsburgh Panthers (11-2) play the 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans (10-2) in the Peach Bowl on Thursday as each team will be missing a key player.
Here's everything you need to know about the college football odds for Thursday's matchup between the Panthers and Spartans --the point spread, moneyline, total over/under and picks from our betting experts (with all college football odds via FOX Bet).
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta): No. 12 Pittsburgh vs. No. 10 Michigan State (7 p.m. ET Thursday, ESPN)
Point spread: Michigan State -2.5 (Michigan State favored to win by more than 2.5 points, otherwise Pittsburgh covers)
Moneyline: Michigan State -138 favorite to win (bet $10 to win $17.25 total); Pittsburgh +120 underdog to win (bet $10 to win $22 total)
Total scoring over/under: 56 points scored by both teams combined
Team Betting Trends
The Panthers are 10-3 against the spread (ATS) this season. The Spartans are 8-3-1 ATS this season.
The Panthers have hit the over in the over/under (O/U) eight times in 13 games this season. The Spartans have hit the over in the O/U seven times in 12 games this season.
The Panthers are 10-3 ATS and 11-2 straight up (SU) when they score more than 25.7 points. The Spartans are 7-1-1 ATS and 8-1 SU in games when they score more than 23.1 points.
Pick via FOX Sports Betting Analyst Geoff Schwartz
"Pittsburgh has an explosive offense that Michigan State will have trouble defending even with a backup quarterback. The Spartans' pass defense is ranked 111th in the country, and they also rank 112th in third-down success rate and 75th in pressure rate. So even with a backup starting for the Panthers, their offense will be fine in this spot.
"This game also isn't a regular-season game where the backup only has a week to prepare. Quarterback Nick Patti has had a month to get ready for this game, which leads me to believe the Panthers will score enough. … Look for the Panthers to win this game outright."
PICK: Pittsburgh (+2.5 at FOX Bet) to lose by fewer than 2.5 points (or win outright)
Other Things To Know
Among the players opting out of the Peach Bowl are Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett and Spartans running back Kenneth Walker III. Pickett finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and Walker finished sixth.
The Panthers opened as the favorite, but the odds swung to Michigan State when Pickett opted out.
Pickett was 334-for-497 passing (67.2%) for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Patti was 12-for-14 passing (85.7%) for 140 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions.
The ACC champion Panthers were third in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 43 points per game.
The Panthers are on a five-game winning streak and their two losses were by a combined seven points. A win would give Pittsburgh its best season since 1976 when the Panthers won the national title.
Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi was Michigan State's defensive coordinator from 2007 to 2014. Pittsburgh also will be without offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who resigned to take the same job at Nebraska.
The Spartans were ranked third before losing to the Purdue Boilermakers 40-29 on Nov. 6.
Walker had 263 carries for 1,636 yards (6.2 yards per carry) with 18 touchdowns.
"The concern for me is MSU's offensive line," Schwartz said. "Walker made the offensive line better, and without him, I do not believe the team's offense will function well against a feisty Panthers defense that ranks 17th in points per drive and ninth in third-down success rate."
Jordon Simmons is expected to replace Walker. Simmons had 54 carries for 255 yards (4.7 per carry) with no touchdowns.
Quarterback Payton Thorne was 206-for-339 passing (60.8%) for 2,886 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Michigan State leads the all-time series 6-0-1, with the teams last playing each other in 2007.
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