ATLANTA — After back-to-back losses to Top 10 teams, the Pitt football team will go on the road to take on Georgia Tech in the ACC opener for both teams at 12:20 p.m. Saturday.
(Photo of Quadree Henderson. Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)
Watch Pat Narduzzi’s weekly media briefing. Video courtesy of UPMC Pitt LiveWire
GAME STORYLINES
• Pitt opens ACC play on the road when it travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. The Panthers and Yellow Jackets are annual foes as members of the Coastal Division.
• The 1-2 Panthers are coming off consecutive losses to Top 10 opponents Oklahoma State and Penn State. Pitt is one of only two teams in the nation to face a pair of Top 10 teams this early in the season. (Fresno State, which played Alabama and Washington, is the other.)
• Georgia Tech enters its ACC opener with a 1-1 record. The Yellow Jackets were idle this past week due to the cancellation of their Sept. 16 game at UCF.
• Pitt has won each of the past two meetings with Georgia Tech. Late field goals provided the winning margin in each contest: 31-28 in 2015 and 37-34 last year. Chris Blewitt, who graduated as Pitt’s all-time leading kick scorer, was responsible for both of those game-winning kicks.
• After facing one of the country’s most explosive passing teams in Oklahoma State, the Panthers will now have to defend the nation’s No. 1 rushing team in Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are averaging 372.5 yards rushing, while the Panthers are giving up 119.7 yards on the ground.
• Pitt is fielding one of its youngest defenses in recent memory. Through the opening three games, the Panthers have essentially been breaking in nine new starters on that side of the ball. Only two seniors—end Allen Edwards and cornerback Avonte Maddox—are listed on the defensive two-deep.
• The Panthers and Yellow Jackets both feature ball-control attacks on offense and rank among the nation’s leaders in time of possession. Georgia Tech averages 36:30 in possession time to rank fifth nationally. The Panthers are holding the ball for an average of 34:48 to rank 11th.
SERIES NOTES
This is the 12th meeting between Pitt and Georgia Tech in a series that began in 1918…Pitt leads the overall series, 7-4, and owns a two-game winning streak against the Yellow Jackets…the Panthers are 4-1 in games played in Pittsburgh and 3-1 in Atlanta…Pitt and Georgia Tech have twice met in bowl games with the Yellow Jackets winning each time…Georgia Tech defeated the Panthers in the Jan. 2, 1956 Sugar Bowl (7-0) and the Dec. 29, 1956 Gator Bowl (21-14)…the 2017 game marks the fifth Atlantic Coast Conference encounter between the two schools…the ACC series is tied at two wins apiece…the Panthers triumphed in each of the past two meetings courtesy of late field goals by the graduated Chris Blewitt…in 2016, Blewitt’s 31-yard field goal as time expired gave Pitt a 37-34 win at Heinz Field…in 2015, Blewitt boomed a school-record 56-yard field goal with 1:11 left for a 31-28 victory in Atlanta…the initial three games of the series from 1918-20 were all played in Pittsburgh…led by legendary coach Glenn “Pop” Warner, Pitt won each of those three contests by an aggregate score of 58-9…before the 2013 revival of the series, the two schools had not played since a pair of games at Georgia Tech in the 1970s…in 1976, Tony Dorsett scored three touchdowns as Pitt routed the host Yellow Jackets, 42-14…under the direction of Coach John Majors, Pitt would go 12-0 in 1976 and claim the national championship, while Dorsett would win the Heisman Trophy…the Panthers also defeated Georgia Tech, 27-17, in Atlanta during the 1974 season.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television • ACC Network (WTAE-TV, Ch. 4, in Pittsburgh)
Tom Werme, play-by-play
Dave Archer, analyst
D.J. Shockley, reporter
Pitt Radio • 93.7 The Fan & the Pitt IMG Sports Network
Bill Hillgrove, play-by-play
Bill Osborn, analyst
Larry Richert, reporter
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Internet Channel 968
WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) • 92.1 FM
Pitt IMG Sports Network Online Audio Options
PittsburghPanthers.com
Pitt Panthers Gameday App
TuneIn (free live and on-demand content)
