It might be another night game, but the Pitt Panthers are back home at Acrisure Stadium with a chance to prove it yet again.
Despite a loss to SMU, a 48-25 drubbing in Dallas, Texas last weekend, Pitt is still a one-loss squad that has largely handled its business. The Panthers need some help in the ACC to reach the conference title game, but with games against Clemson and Louisville on the schedule, there’s an opportunity to impress.
But Virginia is currently on the slate for the Panthers.
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 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 to truly rebound this season, with four games remaining on the schedule, it will start against Virginia. Pat Narduzzi is confident in a bounce back this weekend.
“When I walked into the team meeting last night — every team is different a little bit different after 10 years,” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly presser. “This is a quieter team, which means it hurt a little bit, which is good. If we come in here, they’re having fun, looking at videos on their phone, stuff like that, it’s like, really? To me, you can tell a lot by what your team does coming in after a loss.
“I think it hurt them. I don’t think they were happy. They were quiet on the plane, on the bus on the way back, which is a good thing. I want them to be hurt. You better be hurt. We all work too hard to have a negative outcome. There better be some pain involved. When it hurts a little bit, it means something to you. We’ll bounce back this week, I’m sure of it.”
So, if you’re looking for some gameday reading in the buildup to kickoff, look no further:
Pat Narduzzi Knows How Defenses Will Attack Eli Holstein Now
Pitt WR Konata Mumpfield Leading On and Off the Field
‘You Better Be Hurt:’ Pitt Football Quiet, Learning from SMU Loss
Pitt OC Kade Bell Has Crucial Job of Helping Eli Holstein Rebound
Players-Only Meeting Sets Tone for Pitt Meeting its Expectations
Pitt Wasn’t Ready, Didn’t Execute in Brutal Loss to SMU
CFP Chairman Explains How Pitt Impressed the Selection Committee
Pitt Football Knows There’s No Room for Unpreparedness
Broadcast Crew Revealed for Pitt vs. Virginia
Betting Odds Favor Pitt to Bounce Back Against Virginia
Recruits Visiting Pitt Football for Virginia Matchup
