PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Darrin Hall, for the second time in three games and third time over the last five, reached triple digits on the ground after going the first five games without reaching the mark. Against the Hokies, Hall rushed for 186 yards on just seven carries with a long of 73 and a touchdown.
–WR Maurice Ffrench, a junior, was the perfect complement for the Panthers’ offense, hauling in two catches for 83 yards and a score against Virginia Tech. That tally included a 78-yard grab. Ffrench also had a 33-yard kick return as he proved to be a valuable home run threat for Pittsburgh.
–DB Dennis Briggs, a senior Pennsylvania native, led the Panthers with seven tackles against Virginia Tech. All of Briggs’ stops were solo tackles. Briggs has 47 total tackles this season, with only 10 of them being assisted. He’s proving capable of winning one-on-one battles along the perimeter.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first meeting between Pittsburgh and Wake Forest. The Panthers joined the ACC in 2013 and the Demon Deacons have been the lone holdout in scheduling since that time.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’ve got a good football team, and to get it done, we show every week. And we talked the last couple weeks, we’ve had a tough schedule, and just because you don’t win them all or lose them by the amount of points you want to lose by, doesn’t make you a failure. You’re only a failure if you quit. Our guys are never going to quit, and there was never a loss of faith or belief that our guys would get it done and come back and play the next game.” — Pat Narduzzi, on Pittsburgh’s turnaround from a 1-4 start