Pitt will be back on the ACC Network next weekend against Virginia, and unlike last week, the discourse likely won’t be nearly as prominent.
Pitt, coming off an embarrassing 48-25 loss to No. 20 SMU, is headed back to the ACC Network for an 8 p.m. matchup against Virginia next Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, the conference announced late Saturday night.
Additional information for the ACC matchup will be released early this week.
It’s a bounce-back opportunity for the Panthers, following the first loss of the season — in devastating fashion. A loss is one thing, and the season certainly isn’t over, but SMU beat the brakes off the Panthers. It wasn’t close.
If Pitt is truly rebound this season, with four games remaining on the schedule, it will start against Virginia.
Virginia is 4-4 (2-3 ACC), and the Cavaliers have lost three straight games — 24-20 against Louisville, 48-31 against Clemson and 41-14 against North Carolina. UVA is one of the weaker teams in the conference, but it’s still a game that Pitt needs to win. It’s just the next game for Pat Narduzzi.
“The message is it’s one game,” Narduzzi said Saturday night. “And like I kind of started off at the beginning, it’s hard to win every week. It’s hard to be on every week. And maybe as a team and a staff, we didn’t handle success. I always say the hardest thing is to handle success. Our guys will handle adversity, and this is adversity, and our guys will bounce back.
“You could see it in the locker room, they’re not discouraged. I told them I loved them, and I love them as much or more as game 1 or game 7, and we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
Pitt is 10-4 all-time against Virginia, with a 37-7 win in Charlottesville, Va. in the most recent meeting. A win against UVA, which will likely be emphasized by betting odds, will be paramount in finishing the season strong.
Have to recover and finish the season strong. I would be pleased if Yarnell gets the start but probably WONT happen. Give Holstein a break and different view the game. We are going to have some more tough games ahead which we could finish the season 8-4??
Call me crazy but for a young man I think Eli did alright at SMU considering the constant pressure he was under and the tough atmosphere he had to operate in. The one interception went off Reid’s hands. He missed a few throws you have to make in certain situations but that’s easier said than done considering the pressure put on him by the SMU defense. Hang in there Eli because you did fine. It was just one of those games where everything snowballed. Let’s right the ship against Virginia.
But he had happy feet almost as soon as the ball was snapped. There were several times I think he panicked prematurely . If he struggles again early next week, have to give yarnell a chance. He threw some nice passes in the game and in reality, Holstein hasn’t looked good for three games now
I have belief in Yarnell but as of now it’s dance with the one that brought you like you said unless the young Holstein implodes which I don’t personally think will happen. Yarnell is a capable guy but at that point in the SMU game they were deep into the roster with backups in. Nothing against Yarnell but I do believe that has to be said in his playing time against SMU. Nate in fairness to Eli wasn’t facing their starters.