Pitt looks to lock down Coastal Division
Pittsburgh’s 1-4 start to the season seems like a distant memory.
After last week’s 52-22 dismantling of Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh (6-4, 5-1 ACC) controls its destiny en route to an ACC Coastal Division title with two regular-season games left.
“I wouldn’t sit here and say it, and I didn’t say it to our kids, but it didn’t take me long to spit it out after the game in the locker room that, hey, you’re bowl eligible. That’s one monkey off your back,” Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi said.
Pittsburgh’s march to the ACC Championship Game pits the Panthers against Wake Forest (5-5, 2-4 ACC) on Saturday.
“We’ve got one game to win this week, and maybe there’s a celebration, maybe there’s not,” Narduzzi said. “We’ve still got another one. Miami I think is going to be a fun game, too. But we’ve got a lot of work to do and not much time to get it done.”
The Panthers brutalized the Hokies on the ground, with Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall combining for 421 yards rushing while quarterback Kenny Pickett added 58.
Once again, Pickett was efficient throwing the ball, despite not putting up gargantuan numbers. Pickett was 7-of-11 passing for 162 yards and a touchdown. Pickett was not intercepted, keeping the ball secure for a Pittsburgh offense that was content to gash the Hokies on the ground.
“You want to run the football, and in today’s world, everybody is just throwing it all over the place, and I still believe it’s a matter of stopping the run and running the football,” Narduzzi said.
As for the Demon Deacons, they’re coming off a 27-23 upset win over North Carolina State.
Pitt will finish the regular season at Miami on Nov. 24. The Panthers have a one-game lead on Virginia, plus the head-to-head tiebreaker, so all they need is one more victory (or a Virginia loss) to win the Coastal.
“It’s a one-game season right now,” Narduzzi said. “Nothing else matters.”