Editor's note: Brian Edwards is No. 2 on VI in guaranteed picks with a 16-7 record (70%, +854). Don't miss out on his pay-if-it-wins-only selection for tonight!

For a second straight night, the Big East will take center stage in the college football universe when Rutgers plays host to its conference rivals from the Steel City.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Pittsburgh (5-1 straight up, 3-2 against the spread) as a three-point favorite with a total of 48 ½. As of late this afternoon, most books had the Panthers favored by 6 ½ with the total adjusted into the 45-46 range. The Scarlet Knights are plus-200 on the money line (risk $100 to win $200).

Dave Wannstedt’s team already has a pair of Big East victories in its pocket. The Panthers went to Louisville two Fridays ago and emerged with a 35-10 win as seven-point road favorites. They captured a 24-21 win over UConn last week, rallying from a 15-point deficit to take out the Huskies on Dan Hutchins’ 18-yard field goal as time expired.

Gamblers backing Pitt, like myself, were left ripping up tickets after it failed to cover the number as a 6 ½-point home ‘chalk.’ The Panthers had three tries from inside UConn’s 10, but they came up short for the potential cover (pending the PAT) each time.

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Bettors were only further chafed by Pitt’s yardage domination (489-303), which wasn’t enough due to a pair of Bill Stull interceptions and the team settling for a 19-yard field goal in the third quarter. Stull did recover to throw two touchdown passes, including a 27-yard scoring strike to Dorin Dickerson. A subsequent thee-yard pass to Cedric McGee on the 2-point conversion drew Pitt even before a three and out from the defense set up Hutchins’ game winner.

Rutgers (4-1 SU, 1-2 ATS) is in a more favorable situation for this spot in terms of the schedule. While Pitt has to travel and play on a short week of preparation, the Scarlet Knights are coming off an open date. Before that, they waxed Texas Southern 42-0 in a non-lined home game.

Since losing 47-15 as a five-point home favorite in the season opener against Cincinnati, RU has won four consecutive games against extremely weak foes like Howard (45-7), FIU (23-15), Maryland (34-13) and Texas So.

Tom Savage has taken over at the quarterback position and will make his fourth career start. The true freshman, who was the prize of Greg Schiano’s recent recruiting class, has a 4/0 touchdown-interception ratio. Those numbers are misleading, however, and this will be Savage’s first real test against Big East competition. (He did have a TD pass against the Bearcats, but it came well after the outcome had been decided.)

Rutgers will need to protect Savage, who will face a defense that ranks third in the nation in sacks. Pitt averages more than four sacks per game. This unit will go against an RU offensive line that most think of as the best in the conference.

Junior OT Anthony Davis is an All-American candidate that protects Savage’s blind side. OG Caleb Ruch is another emerging star, but he may not play due to a leg injury that’s had him sidelined the last three weeks.

Other than the two picks against UConn, Stull has been sensational this season. The fifth-year senior QB has completed 66.7 percent of his throws for 1,256 yards with a 13/3 TD-INT ratio. Stull has a pair of big-time weapons in Dickerson and Jonathan Baldwin. Dickerson has hauled in 21 receptions for 232 yards and seven TDs, while Baldwin has 27 catches for 532 yards and three TDs.

Although the Panthers lost a pair of RBs to the NFL in LeSean McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling, they have enjoyed a productive ground attack thanks to the emergence of Dion Lewis, who has 738 rushing yards and seven TDs. Lewis is averaging an eye-opening 5.6 yards per carry.

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The Panthers come to New Jersey with a 5-1 record for the first time since 2000. They will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak against Rutgers.

Schiano’s squad won 54-34 at Pitt last year as a 9 ½-point road underdog. In 2007, the Scarlet Knights won a 20-16 decision but failed to cover as 12-point home favorites. RU won 20-10 at Pitt in ’06 and 37-29 in ’05. Both of those victories came from the ‘dog role.

The ‘under’ is 3-2 overall for Pitt, but the ‘over’ is 2-1 in its road games. The Panthers have had two games combine for 41 points and two others go to 45. They saw points galore (81 and 69) in their two other contests.

The ‘under’ is 2-1 overall for RU, 1-1 in its home contests.

Weather reports are indicating a strong chance of rain and temperatures in the low-40s by kickoff. The wind-chill factor could be in the 30s. ESPN will have the telecast at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--Michigan transfer Marcus Weatherspoon was expected to start at LB for Rutgers, but the redshirt freshman still hasn’t played this season because of a pulled muscle in his leg.

--LVSC opened Nebraska as a six-point home favorite versus Texas Tech. As of Thursday night, however, the line had shot up to 10 ½ at most spots. The Cornhuskers are 5-0 ATS this year, including three spread covers as double-digit home favorites. Dating back to midway through the 2001 campaign, the Red Raiders are 7-3 ATS when listed as double-digit underdogs. They took the cash in a similar spot (+19) during a 34-24 loss at Texas earlier this year.

--Although Ohio St. trounced Wisconsin 31-13 to cover the number as a 16-point home favorite last week, a closer look at the box score tells a different story. The Badgers actually doubled up the Buckeyes in yardage (368-184) and also had way more first downs (22-8). Jim Tressel’s team collected the comfortable victory thanks to a kick return for a TD and a pair of pick-six’s.

--Iowa remains undefeated, but doesn’t is seem like this team is living on borrowed time? After all, the Hawkeyes had to block a pair of last-second field goals to beat No. Iowa 17-16 in the season opener. They also won by just three over Arkansas St. (24-21) and by two over Michigan (30-28). Iowa won a 38-16 decision over Wisconsin last season, scoring the most points against the Badgers in a head-to-head meeting since 1978. With revenge on its mind, Wisconsin looks like the play to me as a short favorite against Kirk Ferentz’s squad.

--Al Groh’s tenure at Virginia reminds me of Tommy Bowden’s at Clemson. For years, Bowden would seemingly be on the hot seat every year, only to finish strong and leave the school with no choice but to retain him. When Virginia lost its first three games this season, including an embarrassing home defeat against William & Freakin’ Mary, Groh’s eventual pink slip seemed to be a foregone conclusion. But now the Cavs have won back-to-back games by capturing a 16-3 win at North Carolina and a 44-0 win over Indiana. UVA is a short ‘chalk’ this week at Maryland.

--Nation’s Five Most Disappointing Teams:
1-Illinois (1-4 SU, 0-4 ATS)
2-FSU (2-4 SU, 1-4 ATS)
3-Georgia (3-3 SU, 1-5 ATS)
4-North Carolina (4-2 SU, 1-3 ATS)
5-Clemson (2-3 SU, 3-2 ATS)

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

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