Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Betting Odds, Football Pick

The Pittsburgh Panthers are one of few teams around that can claim a standoff in their recent rivalry with Notre Dame, splitting the last eight meetings outright, going 5-2-1 against the spread over that span. The Panthers will go off as home dogs when they battle the Irish Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field.

Point spread: The Fighting Irish opened as 7.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 32.2-21.2 Fighting Irish

Why the Notre Dame Fighting Irish can cover the spread

Notre Dame is 7-1 this season, 6-2 ATS, after topping Temple last week 24-20. The Irish trailed the pesky Owls late 20-17 but drove 75 yards to take a final lead, then stopped Temple's last drive with an interception to secure the victory. On the night, Notre Dame outgained the Owls 467-295 and outrushed them 168-107, but a pair of red-zone turnovers played a part in keeping the Irish from covering as 11-point favorites.

Three weeks ago, Notre Dame beat USC 41-31, covering six points, and just before that, it beat Navy 41-24, covering 13 points. And on the season, the Irish have outgained every opponent but one, six of them by at least 120 yards. With just one loss, that coming by two points at still-unbeaten Clemson, Notre Dame still has a shot at a national championship playoff berth.

Why the Pittsburgh Panthers can cover the spread

Pitt had won four games in a row but lost last week to North Carolina 26-19. The Panthers fell down 20-3 at the half and pulled to within one score with just under a minute to go but died there. On the night, Pitt played the Heels to a statistical tie, but three big plays went Carolina's way as the Panthers suffered their first conference loss of the season.

Prior to that, Pitt beat Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech and Syracuse consecutively, outgaining and outrushing three of them. The Panthers' only previous loss came on a 57-yard field goal at the buzzer at Iowa back in Week 3. And that defeat looks even better now, considering the Hawkeyes are still unbeaten.

Smart pick

The Panthers put on a nice little run to insert themselves into the ACC's Coastal Division race, but Notre Dame is the better team here, playing on the road, where the spread is a bit more amenable. Take the Irish, minus the points.

Betting trends

Notre Dame is 1-5 straight up and ATS in its last six games against Pittsburgh in November.

Notre Dame is 0-5 ATS in its last five games in November.

Notre Dame is 8-1 SU in its last nine games.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.