Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – January 1, 2005, 8:30 p.m. ET
No. 20 Pittsburgh vs. No. 6 Utah
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Odds: Utah –15, over/under 67 ½
Records:
Pitt: 8-3 SU, 6-5 ATS, 4-5 O/U
Utah: 11-0 SU, 9-2 ATS, 9-2 O/U
Pittsburgh
Seeing Pitt in a BCS bowl game is more surprising to some people than the jubilant F-bomb quarterback Tyler Palko dropped on national television after Pitt beat Notre Dame.
Forgive the Panthers for a weak start to the season that included losses to Nebraska and UConn, as they closed out the season by winning six of their last seven games while covering the spread in five of those. The lone loss was a double-OT heartbreaker to a much-improved Syracuse squad.
While Pitt may be criticized for being the weak sister of the BCS qualifying teams, be wary of betting against Palko. The southpaw has led Pitt to wins over the Irish and Boston College as 11 and 8-point underdogs respectively this season. He’s also sparked the over to the pay window in four of the Panthers’ last five games.
Utah
If you like hefty point totals and covering chalky pointspreads, you fell head over heels for the Utes this season. Utah was the second-most profitable team in the country with a 9-2 ATS record and no team saw the over cash more.
The ATS record is most impressive when you consider the Utes have been slated as a double-digit favorite in every game other than the season opener against Texas A&M.
The big numbers could actually hurt Utah come game day if the score gets closer than anticipated. The Utes’ closest game was a 49-35 win over Air Force back in September.
There’s also the Urban distraction heading into this matchup. The Utes know their coach, Urban Meyer, is bolting for Gainesville for a heavy payday as soon as the final seconds of the Fiesta Bowl tick away.
Covers.com’s take: Panthers 35 Utah 38… Don’t mark Utah down as 12-0 just yet.
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