There’s just one more game left in the 2023 season — for Pitt football, in this case — and it comes against Duke.
There was an expectation before the season that this game would hold more meaning in the grand scheme of ACC play, but it hasn’t been the season either team wanted. But, still, Pitt has one more chance to show off its jerseys.
Pitt will break out a classic uniform combination for Duke, wearing gold helmets with a blue Cathedral stripe and blue Pitt script, white jerseys with blue numbers and gold pants with a blue Cathedral stripe down the leg.
For those who will not be in attendance at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., the ACC Network will carry a noon kickoff between the Panthers and the Blue Devils.
Duke is coming off back-to-back heartbreaking losses over the last two weekends (in overtime against North Carolina two weeks ago and a failed comeback against Virginia over the weekend, and the Blue Devils will close the regular season against Pitt.
Despite missing star quarterback Riley Leonard, Duke has won the games it needed to this season in order to qualify for bowl eligibility, taking down Clemson, Lafayette, Northwestern, UConn, North Carolina State and Wake Forest to sit at 6-5 (3-4 ACC) this season.
It remains uncertain whether Leonard will be able to go against Pitt next weekend, and Grayson Loftis (583 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions in six games this season) appears to be the likely starter in his stead.
The Blue Devils have gotten by because of a strong run game, averaging just about 180 yards per game on the ground with a duo of Jordan Waters and Jaquez Moore.
Pitt and Duke have met 26 times, dating all the way back to a 52-7 win in Durham in 1929, and the Panthers largely have had the upper hand. Aside from a five-game losing streak in the 1940s, Pitt is 17-4 all-time.
The Panthers have won seven in a row — including a 28-26 win at Acrisure Stadium last season — and 11 of the last 12 games dating back to 1969. With the exception of 2020, Pitt and Duke have played every season since 2013.
Pitt has the chance to end the 2023 season with its first — and only — win streak of the season.
