BLACKSBURG, Va. — A win won’t placate a frustrated fanbase but going into the bye week at 2-3 is a heckuva lot better than 1-4.
Pitt has a chance to stop its three-game losing skid against Virginia Tech Saturday night at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va. And it’s certainly a game that the Panthers need to win to get back on track this season.
“As far as Virginia Tech, coach Pry going into his second year down there still trying to get things going, and to me they put up more yards last year against us than North Carolina did last weekend, so you’ve got to get a feel for what you’re dealing with,” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly news conference.
“They put up over 400 yards against us, so you’re talking about a very capable football team, and we’ve got to go play down in that atmosphere.”
Pitt will be bringing out some blue in its uniform this weekend. The Panthers will wear gold helmets with blue script, white jerseys with blue script and blue pants with a gold stripe down the side of the leg.
Pitt opened as a slim road favorite over the weekend, and the spread has continued to close as the game nears. As of Friday night, the Panthers were just a 1.5-point favorite.
It will be an important game for Pitt, a must-win if the Panthers want to snap a four-game losing streak and avoid a 0-2 start in conference play. And, if we’re being honest, it’s one of the few games in the conference that Pitt will be favored to win the rest of the way.
Virginia Tech has gotten off to a slow start this season in the second year of head coach Brent Pry, with losses to Purdue (24-17), Rutgers (35-16) and Marshall (24-17), and the Hokies have used two quarterbacks already this season.
Pitt is 11-11 all-time against Virginia Tech, dating back to an inaugural meeting in 1993. VT won the first four matchups and seven of the first eight matchups. The two sides have met every season for the last 11 years, with Pitt winning seven of the 11 matchups — and each of the last three, winning 47-14 in 2020, 28-7 in 2021 and 45-29 last season.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday night at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, and for those who cannot be in attendance, it will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
Television — ACC Network
Mike Monaco (play-by-play)
Tim Hasselbeck (analyst)
Taylor Tannebaum (reporter)
Radio — 93.7 The Fan, Pitt Panthers Radio Network
Jeff Hathhorn (play-by-play)
Pat Bostick (analyst)
Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson (reporters)
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Channels 133 or 193 or on the SiriusXM app
WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) — 92.1 FM
