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Following an impressive performance in Mel Tucker’s second season as head coach, the Michigan State Spartans are set to embark on their inaugural Peach Bowl journey where they will face Pittsburgh in Georgia.
The Spartans will be taking on a formidable Pittsburgh team in Atlanta, who showed their dominance by defeating Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Pittsburgh had an impressive regular season record of 10-2.
In the New Year’s Six matchup, we have two teams led by defensive-oriented coaches, who also happen to possess explosive offenses. Moreover, both teams have the privilege of having a Heisman Trophy contender in their ranks.
Nevertheless, due to the absence of both candidates, the game has undergone significant odds changes.
Can the Spartans defend against the Panthers and conclude coach Mel Tucker’s successful season? Take a glimpse at the early preview and check out our college football bowls schedule page for more information on the upcoming busy weeks.
Peach Bowl Odds: Michigan State vs. Pittsburgh
Early odds give Pittsburgh the early edge
After the pairings were revealed on the College Football Playoff selection show Sunday afternoon, not all Michigan sportsbooks were quick to release their odds. However, FanDuel Sportsbook was the first to do so, setting Pittsburgh as a 4-point favorite over Michigan State.
Additional odds were gradually released by Monday morning, including FanDuel’s prediction of an over/under of 63.5 points, along with moneylines of -176 for the Panthers and +142 for the Spartans.
BetMGM Sportsbook had the Panthers as 3.5-point favorites, with a predicted total score of 62.5. The moneylines offered were -175 for Pitt and +145 for Michigan State.
DraftKings Sportsbook has established the over/under line at 64, alongside a moneyline of -180 for Pitt, who is a four-point favorite, and +155 for Michigan State.
This season, the Spartans had a solid record of 8-3-1 against the spread, while the Panthers managed 8-4. Pittsburgh, being the favored team in all their matchups, including the one against Wake Forest.
How to watch the Peach Bowl: No. 10 Michigan State Spartans vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh Panthers
- Michigan State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) will be facing off against Pittsburgh (11-2, 7-1 ACC).
- Date and Time: December 30th, 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
- The event will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
- Television Channel: ESPN (Commentators: Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III, Quint Kessenich)
- Spartan Media Network, broadcasting live on the radio.
Michigan State silences critics with historic season
Tucker’s unranked Spartans were not anticipated to achieve much this season, with DraftKings initially predicting the team to win just five games.
The cloudy forecast did not come as a surprise when Tucker’s tenure began, as Michigan State had a 2-5 record in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Tucker and his squad exceeded all expectations, achieving an impressive 10-2 record and securing a No. 10 ranking in the College Football Playoff.
In 2015, Tucker became the third coach in Michigan State’s history to win 10 regular-season games, joining Duffy Daugherty and Mark Dantonio on this exclusive list. Dantonio’s team was the most recent to achieve this feat.
The two flaws on the record came as no surprise. Purdue managed to secure a victory against Michigan State with a score of 40-29, utilizing clever tactics and trick plays. They further demonstrated their ability to defeat formidable opponents by upsetting the Iowa Hawkeyes, living up to their reputation.
Next, there was the overwhelming 56-7 defeat in the hands of the Ohio State Bullies, I mean, Buckeyes. The Spartans entered the match as 19-point underdogs and were completely overwhelmed.
On October 30, the Spartans achieved a significant highlight by defeating Michigan, resulting in their sole loss of the season with a score of 37-33.
Throughout the majority of the season, Michigan State maintained a position within the top 10 rankings, while Tucker’s exceptional work in reviving the program earned him a remarkable 10-year contract extension worth $95 million.
The Spartans concluded the regular season with an average of approximately 32 points per game, nearly twice as much as their previous season’s average of 18 points.
Heading into the matchup, the top three offensive leaders are Quarterback Payton Thorne, running back Kenneth Walker III, and receiver Jayden Reed.
Thorne’s regular-season performance included 206 completed passes out of 339 attempts. He managed to accumulate 2,886 passing yards and scored 24 touchdowns, while only throwing nine interceptions. Additionally, he contributed 177 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns on the ground.
Walker III, a strong candidate for the Heisman Trophy, successfully rushed the ball 263 times, accumulating an impressive total of 1,636 yards and scoring 18 touchdowns. Despite his remarkable performance, he ranked second nationally, falling short of Central Michigan’s Lew Nichols III. However, as of Sunday afternoon, Walker III’s chances of winning the Heisman remained slim, as he was given odds of +5000 by BetMGM. It is worth mentioning that Walker III has made the decision to withdraw from participating in the Peach Bowl.
Reed accumulated a total of 52 receptions, amounting to 946 yards and scoring eight touchdowns.
Pittsburgh thumps Wake Forest, snags ACC title
On Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference showdown, the Pittsburgh Panthers showcased their dominance with a resounding 45-21 victory over Wake Forest, concluding their impressive 10-win regular season.
Following a remarkable 58-yard run by Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh took the lead. However, both teams managed to score, leading to a series of back-and-forth exchanges. Eventually, Wake Forest secured two additional touchdowns, concluding the first quarter with a 21-14 advantage.
There were no further points scored by the Demon Deacons.
Pickett completed 20 out of 33 passes, accumulating 253 yards and scoring two touchdowns, in addition to his rushing score.
A total of eight passes for 126 yards were caught by Jordan Addison. Both Jordan Addison and Jared Wayne managed to secure a touchdown reception.
Israel Abanikanda rushed the ball nine times, gaining a total of 55 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
Pittsburgh’s two defeats were tightly contested affairs, with one of them being a shocking Week 3 44-41 loss to Western Michigan.
In the face of Miami, the Hurricanes took an early lead in the first quarter. The Pirates diligently tried to catch up and managed to tie the game at 31-all towards the conclusion of the third quarter. However, Miami swiftly retaliated with another score.
In the early fourth quarter, Pittsburgh successfully kicked a field goal, bringing the score to 38-34. However, their hopes of taking the lead were ultimately dashed.
After the title game on Saturday, the Panthers have an average score of 43 points.
Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi, who served as Michigan State’s defensive coordinator for eight seasons from 2007-2014, shares an enduring friendship with the team, adding an “old friend” connection to this matchup.
Michigan State dominates short, dated history against Pitt
The meeting history between Michigan State and Pittsburgh is limited to only seven occasions. These matchups occurred in the years 1945, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1960, 2006, and 2007.
Michigan State has a record of six victories, with one match resulting in a tie back in 1960. Their most recent encounter was on September 15, 2007 in East Lansing, where Michigan State emerged victorious with a score of 17-13. Notably, this is the first time the teams have competed against each other during the offseason.
In 1968, the Peach Bowl made its debut with LSU emerging victorious over Florida State with a score of 31-27. Since 1997, Chick-fil-A has been a proud sponsor of the game, and this sponsorship has remained consistent. From 2006 to 2013, the annual bowl game was officially known as the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
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