The Cardiac Hill staff is perfect so far in their predictions after their bold picks of everyone picking Pitt to beat Youngstown State last week. As you can see down below, we went even bolder with all of us again picking Pitt to beat Akron tomorrow.

This game is similar to last week: Pitt should not lose this game. Can they? Yup. Have they? Yup! Should they? NOPE. Even with this game being on the "road" (Pitt fans will definitely travel for this one), there is zero reason for Pitt to lose this game. I know, I know, it's Pitt. They are the Murphy's Law program in college football, but I think Pitt will exorcise a second demon of the previous staff with a win tomorrow.

The loss of Conner is a big one, and does put a bit of a damper on the excitement of the season. Conner is just so fun to watch run with the ball, and it's sad to think we may never see him in a Panther uniform again. I think in comparison to last week, however, getting Tyler Boyd (and even Rori Blair) back is bigger than the loss of Conner. Pitt, as Ollison showed, has a true stable of running backs while there is a huge lack of quality depth at wide receiver. Dontez Ford is more than serviceable, but after that, there is definitely a drop off. I think guys like Quadree Henderson and Elijah Zeise will definitely improve the more games they play, but for right now Pitt needs #23 badly. 

My score prediction: 42-27 Pitt.

Yes, I predict Pitt will hold Akron to fewer points than YSU. I think the offense will get cleaned up a bit, and the defense gets more pressure with Blair back.

Staff Predictions:

Anson - Pitt (1-0)

Aron - Pitt (1-0)

Chris - Pitt (1-0)

JD - Pitt (1-0)

Jim - Pitt (1-0)

Stephen - Pitt (1-0)