To the victors go the spoils. With a 45-21 win over Wake Forest in the 2021 ACC championship game, Pitt is an outright conference champion for the first time and will now begin to prep for a New Year’s Six bowl.
Pitt will play in the Peach Bowl, earning a chance to play No. 10 Michigan State on Dec. 30 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
With the ACC’s usual NY6 bowl tie-in being used for the College Football Playoff this season, there wasn’t an automatic bid for any particular bowl as the ACC champ, but Pitt was either going to the Peach Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.
With a No. 12 ranking in the final regular season CFP poll of the season, Pitt will get a chance to play one of the poorer pass defenses in the country against the Spartans. Which is a game that is also a homecoming for former Michigan State defensive coordinator — current Pitt head coach, obviously — Pat Narduzzi.
Pitt has never played in the Peach Bowl before, with the last major bowl game coming in a 35-7 loss to Utah in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl, but this year’s Peach Bowl will be a good chance to start a new streak.
While some Pitt fans may have wanted a Fiesta Bowl berth, a very winnable NY6 bowl against Michigan State is very good for the program in both prestige and exposure.
Pitt and Michigan State have met seven times before, the last meeting a 17-13 Spartans win in 2007, so the Panther could also score the first ever win over Michigan State.
The 2021 Peach Bowl will be broadcast on ESPN at 7 p.m. on Dec. 30.
