A familiar face will be in the booth for the ESPN broadcast of Pitt hosting No. 4 Florida State at Acrisure Stadium this weekend — a 3:30 p.m. kickoff scheduled for Saturday.
Pitt will be on national television once again this week, but there will be a familiar face on the television on ESPN this time around. Mark Jones will handle play-by-play duties, former Pitt star (and Kickoff Luncheon keynote speaker) Louis Riddick will serve as his analyst and Quint Kessenich will report from the sideline.
Bill Hillgrove is in the booth for 93.7 The Fan, serving as the play-by-play guy in his 50th season, with Pat Bostick serving as his analyst and Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson reporting from the field at Acrisure.
Florida State is coming off a 41-16 win against Wake Forest, the same Demon Deacons squad that knocked Pitt off 21-17 two weeks ago, for reference, and the Seminoles appear poised to be included amongst the initial College Football Playoff teams in the first 2023 CFP ranking Tuesday.
The Seminoles have been nearly impossible to stop this season, leading the ACC in scoring offense on the back of star quarterback Jordan Travis — completing 164-of-207 pass attempts (79.2%) for 2,109 yards with 18 touchdowns and two interceptions and adding 57 carries for 205 yards and six more scores.
Florida State is 8-0, on pace to qualify for the Playoff, and it’s been fueled by a high-flying offense (41.5 points per game) that features elite playmakers in wide receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson and running back Trey Benson.
But a stifling defense (18.3 points per game) features one of the most impactful edge rushers in college football in the form of Jared Verse.
Pitt has only faced off against FSU 10 times over the course of its history, losing an inaugural meeting 31-13 in Tallahassee, Fla. back in 1971. The Seminoles took the first two mashups (1971 and 1972), Pitt took the next two (1974 and 1978).
But after a handful of meetings in the 1980s, three of four going in favor of Pitt, there have only been two meetings since.
Pitt lost a renewal of the series in 2013 in Pittsburgh, and after another break — just seven years this time — Pitt rebounded to take the most recent meeting in 2020.
And funnily enough, Travis was one of three Seminoles to throw interceptions as Kenny Pickett led the Panthers to a 41-17 win at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. It will be much, much tougher facing Travis this time around.
Television — ESPN
Mark Jones (play-by-play)
Louis Riddick (analyst)
Quint Kessenich (reporter)
Radio — 93.7 The Fan, Pitt Panthers Radio NetworkÂ
Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play)
Pat Bostick (analyst)
Larry Richert and Dorin Dickerson (reporters)
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Channel 380 or on the SiriusXM app
WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) — 92.1 FM
