Pittsburgh vs UCLA Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for Sun Bowl 2022 (Defense Nowhere to Be Found in El Paso)

Pittsburgh vs UCLA Game Info

2022 NCAA College Football Game — Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Pittsburgh Panthers (8-4) vs. No. 18 UCLA Bruins (9-3)
Date: Friday, Dec. 30, 2022
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Sun Bowl — El Paso, TX
Coverage: CBS

The 2022 NCAA college football bowl game matchups have been revealed, including the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl between the Pittsburgh Panthers and No. 18 UCLA Bruins.

Pittsburgh ended the 2022 NCAAF campaign on a high note with four straight victories, including a 42-16 win over Miami in its last outing. Though UCLA started to fall apart toward the end of the season, the Bruins were victorious in their final regular-season game, beating California, 35-28.

Can Pittsburgh parlay its recent momentum into the 15th bowl victory in school history? Or will UCLA snag its first bowl win since January 2015?

Pittsburgh vs UCLA Odds & Spread

All NCAAF betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: PITT: (+202) | UCLA: (-250)
Spread: PITT: +6.5 (-110) | UCLA: -6.5 (-110)
Total: 57.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

UCLA enters this contest as a clear favorite on the spread and moneyline. This Sun Bowl clash also features a total of 57.5 points, which is slightly above average compared to this year's bowl games.

Pittsburgh vs UCLA Prediction & Pick

Despite Pittsburgh's solid play this season, the Panthers didn't fare too well against ranked schools. After all, they lost a combined 76-51 against Tennessee and North Carolina. While they did secure a victory over Syracuse at the start of November, it's worth pointing out that the Orange are 1-5 in their last six games and the loss to the Panthers was one of five in a row.

UCLA isn't perfect, but it boasts an elite offense that puts up 39.1 points (No. 8) and 510.0 yards (No. 3) per game. UNC proved that the key to beating Pittsburgh is through the air (388 passing yards), which is doable for the Bruins, who average 261.2 aerial yards this season (No. 33).

Throwing in the fact that UCLA has also won 10 of its last 11 games as the favorite, it's easy to see why the Bruins should be victorious at the Sun Bowl.

Final Score Prediction: UCLA: 41 | Pittsburgh: 33

Pittsburgh vs UCLA Betting Trends

- Pittsburgh is 0-5 against the spread (ATS) in its last five games as the underdog.
- UCLA is 12-3 straight up in its last 15 games.
- The total has hit the over in four of Pittsburgh's last five games.
- The total has hit the over in eight of UCLA's last 10 games.

Pittsburgh vs UCLA Best Bet

All NCAAF betting lines, odds and prop bets are available on FanDuel Sportsbook.

It won't be surprising if the 2022 Sun Bowl ends up being a high-scoring showdown. With UCLA's offense as strong as it is, Pittsburgh will have to put its entire focus on matching the Bruins blow-for-blow. Naturally, that should lead to more points on the board.

On top of that, the total has gone over in four of Pittsburgh's last five games as well as in eight of UCLA's most recent 10. Add in the fact that the over has occurred in eight of the Panthers and Bruins' combined nine games away from home this season, and it's even easier to back the total going over 57.5 points.

Bet: Over 57.5 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.