I hope you like staying up late because there are back-to-back primetime games on the way for Pitt football.
After traveling to Morgantown, W.Va. this weekend for the Backyard Brawl, with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff scheduled for Milan Puskar Stadium, Pitt will return home in two weekends to host No. 20 North Carolina.
Kickoff at Acrisure Stadium has been set for 8 p.m., the fourth straight primetime game between Pitt and UNC, and it will be broadcast on the ACC Network — with a TV crew yet to be announced.
It’s an important game for Pitt this season, which hinges even more drastically on the Backyard Brawl this weekend, as Pitt kicks off ACC play against the Tar Heels this season. It’s a tough opening test against one of the best quarterbacks in college football.
North Carolina has gotten off to a 2-0 start in 2023, with wins over South Carolina and Appalachian State, and Minnesota stands in the way of a Pitt-UNC matchup in two weeks.
Star quarterback Drake Maye is in the midst of a solid start to his third season at UNC, throwing for 477 yards and two touchdowns on 73% completions over two games, but it’s running backs Omarion Hampton and British Brooks who have impressed this season — along with seemingly much-improved defense.
Pitt is 5-11 all-time against North Carolina, dating back to an inaugural 45-29 loss in Chapel Hill, N.C. in 1974. The Tar Heels won six straight one-score games between 2013-18.
Pitt had won the last two meetings before Maye and UNC ran away with a 42-24 win in Chapel Hill last October. Maye threw for 388 yards and five touchdowns, adding 61 yards on the ground, in a dominant effort.
A broadcast crew for the ACC matchup will likely be announced next Monday.
