Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest: ACC Championship Predictions

The 2021 ACC Championship is upon us, and Clemson is not in it for the first time since 2014. Instead, this year’s game has the Pittsburgh Panthers battling the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

BetMGM’s latest college football odds have Pittsburgh as a three-point favorite.

Does that mean Pittsburgh will win, or are there better bets on the board? Here are my best picks for this Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest showdown.

Pittsburgh -3

This spread is close, but I am leaning towards the Panthers to come out victorious here. The main reason is that I am not confident that Wake Forest can handle an offense as talented as Pittsburgh.

In a game against North Carolina, another potent ACC offense, the Demon Deacons surrendered 58 points. In that game, UNC QB Sam Howell threw for 216 yards.

This game showed me that the Demon Deacons might not have the defense to stop an offense that can keep up with them. Pitt star QB Kenny Pickett has thrown under the 300-yard mark in only four games this season. I can’t see how a Wake Forest team that gives up 427.5 total yards per game and allows 29.1 points per game can contain Pickett.

On top of this, Pittsburgh has the best rushing defense in the ACC, only giving up 92 rushing yards per game. If that keeps up here, that can cause Wake Forest real problems since they rely heavily on a delayed run-pass option.

For all of those reasons, I like the Panthers to cover.

Over 72.5

It is hard for me to pick against the over here, considering how dominant these offenses are. These teams are top five in the nation in points per game, with Wake Forest averaging 42.9 points and Pittsburgh 42.8 points.

Pittsburgh has also exceeded the over in eight of their 12 games so far in 2021.

Wake Forest has only scored under 35 points once this season. Pittsburgh has not scored fewer than 27 points in any game.

Both of these teams had season lows against Clemson, which gives up the fewest points in the ACC. But both managed to score 27 points on them.

With that in mind, I am confident that both of these teams will put up enough points to push this total over.

Both Teams 20+ Points in the First Half (+220)

As I said above, these are two of the five highest-scoring offenses in the country, so I expect this to be a shootout.

However, out of all of these picks, this would be my longshot. While I feel confident that both teams will put up a lot of points, I am not sure how quickly they will come if Pittsburgh’s rushing defense comes out well against the delay run-pass option.

However, considering the talent that both of these offenses have shown this season, I think that +220 provides enough upside for bettors to take a chance.

Get Your Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest Bets In

These are three of the bets that I would recommend for this Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest ACC Championship. Do you agree with these picks, or would you go the opposite route?

Either way, you can place your bets here at BetMGM. It is the best online sportsbook for all of your Pennsylvania sports betting needs. Create an account today.