Birmingham, AL plays sponsor to the Compass Bowl on January 7th with the Pittsburgh Panthers facing the Mustangs. The Panthers come in after the 1-year Todd Graham experiment at head coach. Graham resigned his post on December 14th to take the head coaching job at Arizona State. Defensive Coordinator Keith Patterson will put on the headset for the Panthers in this clash of titans. SMU comes into competition with the threat of the “Death Penalty” passed on in the 1980′s still being talked about today. Former Nfl and Hawaii coach June Jones is now in his 4th year on the sidelines of Southern Methodist University. The gambling line has this established at Pittsburgh (-3) with an over-under of 47 points.

Football odds

Pittsburgh comes into competition with a 6-6 record along with a 4-3 record in the Big East. Winning vs #16 South Florida 44-17 on September 29th, they have had one competition vs a rated opponent. Pittsburgh’s offense puts up 25.8 ppg with their defense permitting 22.4 ppg. Junior Qb Tino Sunseri comes into the game with 2,433 passing yards and also a passer rating of 124.8. Junior RB Ray Graham has counted 958 rushing yards and 9 Tds to date this season. Sophomore WR Devin Street is Sunseri’s favorite target catching 48 receptions with 2 Tds. Junior WR Mike Shanahan is a great second target with 35 receptions and 4 Tds.

NFL betting

SMU comes in the game with a 7-5 record and also a 5-3 record in Conference USA. They have gone 1-2 vs rated competitors this year, winning over #20 TCU and losing to #8 Texas A&M and #11 Houston. The Mustangs give up 24.5 ppg on defense whilst their offense averages 25.7 ppg. Relying on the run-and-shoot offense to put up huge statistics in offense, June Jones has traditional had pass-heavy squads in the past. This Mustangs squad this season has a 1,000 yard rusher, unusual in the Jones’ program. Senior Qb J.J. McDermott with 3,182 passing yards and 16 TDs buoys the passing game. Junior RB Zach Line has had a great season with 1,224 rushing yards and 17 Tds. Junior WR Darius Johnson with 72 catches and 998 receiving yards and senior WR Cole Beasley with 79 catches and 954 receiving yards steady the Mustangs receivers.