Playing The Odds is your weekly look at the Vegas betting lines for our Pittsburgh-area football teams. Playing The Odds is offered solely for entertainment purposes. SB Nation Pittsburgh does not promote gambling, unless Pitt and Penn State start playing yearly games again. Then all bets are on. All lines are accurate as of Tuesday morning of each week. Feel free to use the comments to tell us who you think will be victorious.
Saturday, December 4
12:00p - West Virginia Mountaineers (-20) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
West Virginia finds itself atop the Big East standings heading into the final regular season weekend, tied with Connecticut at 4-2 in conference play. Unfortunately, due to a loss at UConn in October, the Huskies would get the BCS bid if both teams win out. The Mountaineers should be able to easily handle Rutgers and then sit back and root for South Florida to knock of UConn in their 8pm meeting in Tampa.
12:00p - Pittsburgh Panthers (-2) at Cincinnati Bearcats
Like West Virginia, Pitt needs some help to get the Big East's BCS bid. Unfortunately, part of that help includes a WVU loss, an outcome highly unlikely to happen. Because of this, and since they have dropped two of the last three, the Panthers need to be careful not to slide even further down the Big East bowl selection list. Pitt should still win, but it might be closer than some Panther fans would like.
Sunday, December 5
8:20p - Pittsburgh Steelers (+3) at Baltimore Ravens
Ah, Rivalry Week. Hines vs. Ed. Ben vs. Ray. Mike vs. John. This is the week that fans of both teams look forward to, maybe moreso in Pittsburgh due to Baltimore's earlier victory over the Steelers. Both teams sit at 8-3, tied for the division lead (Baltimore holds the current tiebreaker with the head-to-head victory). To break the tie, the Steelers need a victory in this game (among other tiebreaker requirements). However, that task is easier said than done. Once again, expect a close, field position-based matchup.