Inside The Panthers

Pitt Opens as Heavy Favorites vs. Central Michigan

The Pitt Panthers have covered the spread once this season and will look to do so again after being set as a heavy favorite in a clash against Central Michigan
Karl Ludwig|
Aug 30, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi (middle) leads the team onto the field to play the Duquesne Dukes at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Aug 30, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi (middle) leads the team onto the field to play the Duquesne Dukes at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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The Pitt Panthers were a heavy, heavy favorite in their season opener against Duquesne, and despite the spread, the Panthers covered. They'll look to do the same, albeit with a slightly smaller spread, in Week 2.

Circa Sports has set the Panthers as a 21-point favorite in their Week 2 matchup against the Central Michigan Chippewas. The total points spread has been set at 55 points.

It's the first ever matchup between Pitt and Central Michigan in either team's history.

"They’re a tough football team," Pat Narduzzi said Monday. "They are blue-collar. Played them in the past, Northern Illinois. Actually, at Michigan State we played Central. We actually traveled up to their place one year. They had music blaring, more speakers and fake music than I’ve ever seen in my life. Loudest place I’ve ever seen for not being that big a place."

DraftKings has opened with Pitt as a 21.5-point favorite, with a bet to cover holding -110 odds. Pitt has -2100 odds to win outright, and the total point spread has been set at 51.5 points.

FanDuel also has set Pitt as a 21.5-point favorite. The Panthers have -2300 odds to win outright, and the total point spread has been set at 51.5.

Central Michigan head coach Matt Drinkall is in his first season with the Chippewas following a lengthy tenure as an assistant at Army.

Central Michigan escaped with a 16-14 win against San Jose State on Friday night, with kicker Cade Graham nailing a go-ahead field goal late in the fourth quarter.

The Chippewas utilize a sort of option offense, making use of three different quarterbacks, and Narduzzi expects a difficult challenge.

"They’re going to play with three quarterbacks," Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly presser. "If you’re out there watching, you’re not going to say, 'What happened with the quarterback? Did he get hurt?' They play with three. They played with three at Eastern Washington all the time.

"They have packages for all three offensively. They do a bunch of different stuff. They like to line up and pound you, okay? That’s what they want to do. About a 70% run football team. They’re going to line up in a lot of two tight ends, three tight ends, a little bit of the one tight end stuff that is college football nowadays."

Pitt and Central Michigan are scheduled to kick off at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium. The matchup will also be broadcast on ESPNU.

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Karl Ludwig
KARL LUDWIG

Karl Ludwig is a Pittsburgh Panthers on SI sportswriter. He has spent the past three years covering the Pitt Panthers for a couple of platforms. While he did not attend Pitt, he grew up in the Pittsburgh area, attending North Allegheny Senior High School and Slippery Rock University. As a student at SRU, he served as the sports editor of SRU’s student-run newspaper, The Rocket, and provided award-winning coverage in football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer. It was at SRU that his love for sports journalism blossomed. Karl spent three seasons as the Pitt football beat writer for Pittsburgh Sports Now, following time as an intern for the Sports Now Network. His most recent coverage of the University was for Pitt Sports News of the On3/Rivals network. He’s also contributed to Athlon Sports and SB Nation’s Behind the Steel Curtain.

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