ATLANTA — The Pittsburgh Panthers have spent all season proving doubters wrong on the way to the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, and now they have found one more as they prepare to take on the Michigan State Spartans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Yang Yang, a 24-year-old male panda at Zoo Atlanta.
The panda spurned a box of food with a Pitt logo on it in favor of one with a Michigan State logo on it, signifying his pick that the Spartans would win the game. Yang Yang correctly picked Georgia to defeat Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl last season, although his overall record prediction Peach Bowls has been below average.
“This is his sixth time right now, he doesn’t have the greatest record at 2-3,” said Kenn Harwood, associate curator of animals at Zoo Atlanta. “But we’re hoping he’s going to break even and get up to .500 this year.”
While Harwood insists there was no advantage for either team in Yang Yang’s selection, he was happy about the panda’s prediction.
“Michigan State is my team,” he laughed. “I’ve been talking Michigan State up with him for years. He’s finally done me good.”
Beat the Spartans – H2P!