Pitt kicked off the season with a 55-24 win against Kent State this weekend, but Power Four play begins next weekend in Cincinnati. It will be a matchup much more indicative of how far the Panthers have come throughout the offseason.
Pitt is a 2-point underdog against Cincinnati, according to Circa Sports. The total point spread has been set at 54.5 points.
DraftKings has set Pitt as a 2.5-point road underdog.
FanDuel has also set Pitt as a 2.5-point road ‘dog, with a bet for Pitt to cover set -105. The total point spread has been set at 58.5 points and the money line odds at +114 for Pitt and -137 for Kent State.
Pitt and Cincinnati have played 13 times over the last 102 years, with the Bearcats having a chance to stretch a three-game win streak into four — with no current plans for a future matchup.
Pitt won the first seven meetings, including a debut 21-14 win in Pittsburgh in 1921, from 1921 until 2007. But Cincinnati took four of the next five from 2008-12. The River City Rivalry resumed last season at Acrisure Stadium.
The rivalry is based on the fact that the two schools are similar in size, both along the Ohio River (hence the rivalry name) and that the professional sports teams in each city already are rivals. The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates have had some great games against each other in baseball and the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers have a hatred for each other on the gridiron only seen in the AFC North division.
This rivalry game also has ties to Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi, who served as the Bearcats defensive coordinator from 2004-06. Linebackers coach Ryan Manalac also played linebacker for Cincinnati in college and again for the Bengals in the NFL.
Pitt football took the first seven games of the series, including the first three in the Big East, but lost four of the past five matchups to Cincinnati before both teams left the conference.
Pitt will look to get the best of Cincinnati this season, traveling to Cincinnati for the first time since 2012. The Bearcats knocked off Towson 38-20 at Nippert Stadium this weekend to kick off the new season.
Pitt is scheduled to kick off against Cincinnati on Sept. 7 at noon. The non-conference tilt will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN — capping off a home-and-away series.
Will be a bigger test compared to Kent. I didn’t get to see the Cincy game but it seemed not to be a complete beatdown of Towson. 3 of their TD scores came on big plays. O-line didn’t allow a sack. We probably will need to play really well and get a little luck along the way. H2P !
Cincinnati is the worst team in the Big 12. It is a must win for Pitt if you want to have a winning season.
i don’t know much about them but oddsmakers currently think that last place squad can win by 2.5. my point was really that they are better than kent and will provide a bigger challenge, relatively speaking.
Maybe a little more of a challenge, but not much more.
I hope you are correct. H2P !
We do get to bring our own referee crew. Noticed in the first quarter on Saturday, the MAC crew made a lot of calls against Pitt and none against KSU. As the game wore on, they settled down.
We won’t need luck to beat a team that struggled to stop Towson.
To call this a rivalry is ridiculous
‘The River City Rivalry’….just one more thing to thank the great Steve Pederson for.
He’s the gift that keeps on giving.
If our OL can play well, and our DL can get pressure on their QB to help our DBs, we should win.
true. Cincy QB wasn’t heavily pressured last week. O-line gave up no sacks. On D side, Corleone could be back in lineup. He will be a handful. H2P !
Corleone will not be back, neither will several other starters they had last season. They gave up no sacks to Towson.
The o line will play well, and, as usual, we will put pressure on their q.b.. That’s what we have been doing for the last several seasons.
Cincinnati gave up 430 yards to Towson. If anything, we will outscore them. If we play an average game, we will win. Last season’s bearcat team was 3-9, this season’s team is not as good.