I'm going to grab Houston at +4 now that the public have pushed them to this key number. This is a road game for Pitt as the game will be played in Fort Worth, Texas and they are doing so with a very young team. Nearly 80% of this roster are underclassmen whom were recruited by Paul Chryst who left for Wisconsin. This is the 4th time since 2010 that Pitt has lost their coach and I just think this is a difficult spot going up against Houston in their home state who have as much talent as Pitt.
Houston lost their coach too but in a different way as the head man was fired. Now their defensive coordinator which is the strength of this football team will take over and I think that is a positive. They will play agressive football which should lead to turnovers. Houston forced 30 turnovers this year and has the ability to stop John Conner with their front seven led by a next level nose tackle in Joey Mbu. On offense Houston definitely improved down the stretch when they made the switch to Greg Ward at QB. Ward went 5-2 as a starter and gives Houston a nice run and pass option. In fact this unit rushed for 200+ yards with 5.5+ yards per carry in each of their last 3 games. This is key, because Pitt's defense has struggled at time this year against the run allowing 5.60 ypc in their 6 losses and 2.76 in their wins. Houston is absolutely capable of winning this game and I'll grab it at 4.5.
