Pitt has guaranteed a bowl appearance this winter. It will now be determined by how well they play over the next three games to finish the season.
Brett McMurphy of Action Network now projects the Panthers to face off against Michigan in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28 in the Bronx, N.Y. Action Network has set the Wolverines as a way-too-early 2.5-point favorite.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports still projects the Panthers to face off against Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27 in San Diego, Cal.
The Holiday Bowl and the Pinstripe Bowl aren’t exactly top-tier appearances, especially after Gator Bowl projections, but that’s what happens after a couple of losses. There’s still a chance to rise — or continue to fall, on the flip side — over the last three games of the season. A 7-2 season could end quite a few ways.
Pitt has never played in the Holiday Bowl, but the Panthers have an appearance in a Pinstripe Bowl, losing 31-24 to Northwestern in 2016.
Pitt is coming off its worst performance of the season against Virginia. The Panthers came out flat, failed to adjust and went out with a whimper against Virginia. Pat Narduzzi blamed himself for the second weekend in a row.
“It starts with me, starts with our coaches putting our kids in position to make plays,” Narduzzi said Saturday night. “We had way too many penalties in the first half offensively. Again, we got iPads. So I’m seeing a lot of things on iPads. But we lost as a team. Again, it starts with me. I’ve got to do a better job getting our guys prepared. I thought we had a great week of practice, but Virginia came in with a week off and did a nice job.”
The Panthers dropped to 7-2 (3-2 ACC) with the loss to Virginia, a Cavaliers squad that entered as a 7.5-point underdog, and the record doesn’t do a good job highlighting the hole they’ve fallen into over the last month.
But there’s no time to waste. No. 23 Clemson is coming to town for a big matchup, and Narduzzi recognizes that the Tigers are still the gold standard.
“We closed that last night,” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly presser. “We’re heading on to Clemson, maybe the best football team we’ve played this year. I shouldn’t say maybe. They are. They’re 315 across the line on their defensive line. They’ve got some big dudes. They’re athletic, a bunch of first rounders on defense and offense.”
Pitt-Clemson is scheduled to kick off at Acrisure Stadium at noon on Saturday.
Pinstripe bowl is awful. Freezing cold; terrible sight lines as it’s a baseball stadium. Let’s hope they win to get a better destination.
No Holiday Bowl. Sun Bowl, please. I went last time, had a blast. San Diego sucks in my honest opinion. H2P.
I would be willing to bet you’ve never been to San Diego