Last week was a blast for Pitt as the Panthers won their second ACC Coastal division title in the past four years. No other ACC football program has won the division more times over the past ten years.
That's something to celebrate, but the Panthers can't be in any mood to rest on their laurels. The team needs to carry positive momentum in with it as it prepares for the ACC Championship against No. 21 Wake Forest, No. 24 North Carolina State, or unranked Clemson.
But there's more than just momentum on the line for the Panthers in their Saturday night game against Syracuse. The Orangemen are 5-6, but all five losses have come in the ACC with a 2-5 conference record. The old school Big East rivals face off in a game where Pitt can achieve an accomplishment it hasn't since 1981.
• What: No. 20 Pitt (9-2, 6-1 ACC) vs. Syracuse (5-6, 2-5 ACC)
• When: 7:32 p.m. Eastern
• Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
• TV: ACC Network
• Radio: 93.7 The Fan
• Satellite: Sirius 138, XM 193, SXM App Channel 955
• Boxscore: Sidearm Sports
• Media notes: Pitt | Syracuse
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Make history: Pitt sits at 9-2 with one final regular season game, the ACC Championship and an inevitable bowl game after that. This means if the Panthers win Saturday, it will be the first time since 2009 that they've won ten games in a season, and the first time since 1981 they got ten wins in the regular season.
It would also put them in position with to win eleven games for the first time since Pitt won eleven games in three consecutive seasons between 1979-1981, and the chance to win 12 games for only the second time in program history, with the other season being Pitt's 1976 national championship. When Pat Narduzzi was asked about the importance of those benchmarks, he attempted to shrug them off.
"Not really," Narduzzi said Monday when asked if reaching . "You can have a good season and win less. You can have a bad season and maybe win more. I'm impressed with the way our kids have played. I think the competition shows when you look at how big that Clemson win is right now, because of how well they're playing."
But he didn't do a good job of keeping that stance, as just a few questions later he answered as if that first answer never existed.
"Ten wins means a lot," Narduzzi said. "And I think we need to have that chemistry going into that next game too. We'll keep them healthy and let our guys go."
Make no mistake, Pitt's going to play its best players and isn't looking at this week differently than any other of their regular season games despite already clinching its division. Narduzzi has his players bought into the themes that have built a strong football culture around the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex this season, and that means they know what's at stake with the chance to finish the regular season on a strong note.
No letdown: Pitt's two losses this season have come after some of its bigger wins. The loss to Western Michigan came after the team's big win over Tennessee that was the first time facing an SEC opponent on the road since 2013.
The loss forced Pitt's team leaders, with Kenny Pickett at the forefront, to call a team meeting for all the players. Several of his teammates praised Pickett's leadership in calling out the entire team, including himself, to step up. The response was Pitt go on a four-game win streak that propelled the Panthers to being ranked No. 17 by the Associated Press, the highest ranking for the program of Narduzzi's tenure.
The last of those wins came against Clemson at Heinz Field, the first time the Panthers beat the Tigers since their 2016 upset over the eventual national champions. The victory came in dominant fashion with both Pitt's offense and defense putting on a show that sent a message that Pitt was a real threat to win the ACC this season.
But then, Pitt suffered its second loss against unranked Miami against a freshman quarterback in Tyler Van Dyke who tore the Panthers' defense apart. There was no team meeting to follow that loss, but the Panthers have responded to that loss with a three-game win streak they're currently riding on their way to the ACC Championship game.
"I always say you learn from your mistakes," Narduzzi said. "We did not handle success well against Tennessee going into that Western Michigan game. So you try to teach them a lesson. I said back then, that loss might've been the best thing that could've happened. I would rather lose that game than an ACC game. But I think we can all agree in November, that's what happened."
"Our guys didn't play well that day, period," Narduzzi continued. "We didn't execute. We turned the ball over. Again, that's coming from success at Tennessee, and then all of a sudden you think you're pretty good and you're not. You're only as good as you are that last outing, and you've got to go out and execute to beat anybody, or anybody can beat you."
Now here Pitt stands after two big wins back-to-back over its closest competitors to win the ACC Coastal in North Carolina and Virginia against two big name quarterbacks in Sam Howell and Brennan Armstrong. And the last game before its final ACC test in the title game is an unranked opponent in Syracuse.
Beyond just this game, Narduzzi's leaned on the rule he's preached to his players all season that no matter the result of the last game, win or loss, that his players have to wipe that game from their mind 24 hours after the game ended. You can hear that message get preached from veteran leaders like Pickett and young upstarts like Jordan Addison every week.
"We closed that chapter Sunday night," Narduzzi said when asked if the team's still celebrating its division-clinching win over Virginia from Saturday. "It's over with. It's been since 1981 -- I think I was a freshman in high school -- that we won ten regular season games. I think I mentioned it to you guys the other day. It's been a long time. To me, that means something. In 40 years, there's something to prove when we go up there this weekend."
Players to watch
Calijah Kancey: Pitt's leading sack man this season has been defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado, who's brought down opposing quarterbacks eight times this season.
But what's pushed the Panthers to have the most sacks in the country with 41 has been a complete pass rush that comes from several players. Behind Baldonado has been the electric defensive tackle Kancey, who's recorded 6.5 sacks on the season.
Kancey's also been a dominant force against the run for Pitt, who leads the team with eleven tackles for loss. That'll be huge against a Syracuse team that's the top rushing offense in the ACC, averaging 230.6 rushing yards per game.
When the Orangemen try to open the game up on the ground, look for Kancey's lightning-quick feet and burst off the line to change the line of scrimmage and open up opportunities for his linebackers.
SirVocea Dennis: Pitt survived losing its best linebacker just three plays into last week's win over Virginia when Dennis was removed for a targeting penalty. The call received criticism from Narduzzi early this week, and sparked commentary about how vital Dennis has been for Pitt's defense.
"Changes a lot," Narduzzi said when asked the impact of losing Dennis for the game. "SirVocea is one of our best players on defense. That was a game changer. That was critical on some of the coverages we were doing. We knew he could match up with those guys athletically. We needed him in there. To not have him, that hurt us. He's become the leader of our defense and runs the show."
Narduzzi's right in that Dennis is one of his best players. His 65 tackles are second-most on the team behind Brandon Hill's 72 tackles, who will be suspended for the first half of Saturday's game because of being ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter of Pitt's win over Virginia.
Dennis will be lined up right behind Kancey and be the signal caller of the Panthers to keep Syracuse's run game in check.
Rodney Hammond II: Pitt's been able to rely upon a three-pronged attack from its backfield in Israel Abanikanda, Vincent Davis and Hammond. Abanikanda is Pitt's leading rusher with 580 yards on 109 carries, with Davis right behind with 432 yards on 106 carries.
But Hammond has the highest yards per carry of Pitt's running backs with 412 rushing yards on 77 carries, good for an average of 5.4 yards per carry. He's done most of that in the fourth quarter, as Mark Whipple's deployed Hammond late in games to grind out wins like he did against Clemson, Virginia Tech and Virginia last week.
"It's really not deliberate," Narduzzi said when asked if Hammond is Pitt's designated closer. "He's going to be a terrific football player. He is a terrific football player, obviously. When you watch that guy run, his one touchdown, his one-yard plunge in there was the hardest one yard of the year. He was not going to be denied. He just gets better every week. I wouldn't say he's the closer. You've got Vince (Davis). You've got Izzy (Abanikanda). Those are three really good tailbacks. Maybe he gets in earlier this week."
Don't buy into Narduzzi trying to play off when Pitt's called upon Hammond this season. He's been the closer because of how hard he runs. Abanikanda and Davis have been true speed threats this season and done a good job when called upon, but you can clearly see the charge and energy his runs bring when he's in the lineup.
Look for Pitt to use him to close out the game and keep Syracuse's own powerful run game off the field.
Behind enemy lines
RB-QB rushing attack: Syracuse doesn't just have the ACC's leading rusher in running back Sean Tucker with 1,467 yards on 233 carries, but also the ACC's second-leading scorer on the ground with quarterback Garrett Shrader's 14 rushing touchdowns on the season.
That's twice as many passing touchdowns that Shrader's thrown this season, which shows you the Orangemen's commitment to the run game. Tucker's a tough back, but Narduzzi made sure to mention how Pitt is preparing for the designed quarterback runs Syracuse has used all season.
"Yeah, they are quarterback runs," Narduzzi said when asked if Shrader's runs were scrambles or by designed. "They're definitely designed, whether it's a draw, or it's a counter. They do all kinds of different stuff. They'll run zone read keepers more than anybody that we've seen. I think we maybe have 14 (zone run concepts) in our breakdown (of Syracuse). They want to get him the ball. And they will."
Pitt's own reputation is on the line though as a stout run defense. The Panthers have allowed just 98.1 rushing yards per game, the best rate in the ACC, and the eighth-best rate in all of college football, even ahead of Ohio State and Clemson. Keeping Syracuse in check will be a challenge, but doing so would also be a statement that Pitt's run defense is for real, and not just benefiting from its high-scoring offense putting teams behind all year.
Stout defensive front: Syracuse also has its own tough defensive front that is third in the ACC and eleventh in the country with 36 sacks this year. It also has the conference's fourth-best rushing defense, allowing 126.3 rushing yards per game.
"Their defensive line is active," Narduzzi said of Syracuse's defense. "Their defensive end Cody Roscoe, a kid from Texas, is a guy who puts pressure on the quarterback fast. Their D-line coach is one of my former players at Northern Illinois, Vinson Reynolds. They're active up there. They're going to put pressure on the quarterback. We've got to protect our quarterback better than we did Saturday. We didn't do a great job."
Pitt allowed Pickett to be sacked three times last week by Virginia, a defense that ranks last in the conference with 15 on the season. If the offensive line doesn't shape up, it could be a very disruptive day for the Orangemen's defensive front.
That group is led by senior defensive end Roscoe with 8.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Combine his efforts with defensive end Kingsley Jonathan's six sacks and linebacker Stefon Thompson's six sacks and eight tackles for loss and you've got a competitive group up front for Syracuse's defense.
"Their defense plays with a high motor," Narduzzi continued. "I think they're different than some other three-down teams, where they're not these 340-pound nose tackles, like Tony Siragusa. That's not what they are three-four wise. But they're athletic. They move around. So our guys are going to have to block them up front and do a great job communicating up front."
Prediction: Pitt 30-17
Syracuse's strengths play right into Pitt's strengths, much like Clemson and Duke did. Teams that rely solely on the run to win will run into a Pitt defense that's ready for such a challenge. If Shrader was more of a dual-threat quarterback, I could see this game going down to the wire. But he's a run-first quarterback and hasn't shown any consistency in throwing the ball this year.
Look for Pitt's defense to play its style of football that's aggressive and physical up front. Syracuse's defense might make life tough for the Panthers' offensive line, but between Pickett, Addison and the assortment of weapons available to Whipple, I see Pitt putting up points when it's most important.
