CHARLOTTE (EYT) — Pitt is hoping that 2016 repeats itself when it faces Clemson in the Dr Pepper ACC Title Game at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
(Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)
Pitt Game Notes — Clemson Game Notes
In 2016, Pitt upset then No. 3/2 Clemson, 43-42, on the road snapping the country’s longest home streak at the time at 21 games. Clemson did go on to win the College Playoff national championship that year.
A win Saturday would be almost as monumental as an upset for the Panthers (7-5), winners of the ACC Coastal Division.
Clemson (12-0), winners of the Atlantic Division for the fourth straight year, is looking to become the first ACC team to ever win four consecutive outright conference titles (Bobby Bowden’s Florida State squads earned at least a share of the ACC title in nine straight seasons across the 1992-2000 campaigns but never earned four outright titles in a row). The Tigers have won 52 of their last 55 games dating back to 2015.
Pitt is in the ACC Title game for the first time since joining the conference in 2013. The Panthers reached the game thanks in large part to a four-game win streak that ended last week with a 24-3 loss at Miami (Fla.). Pitt did win five of its final seven games after starting the season 2-3.
Watch Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi talk about the game. Video courtesy of Pitt UPMC LiveWire
The Panthers have struggled against ranked teams this year losing to then No. 13 Penn State, 51-6, to then No. 13 Central Florida, 45-14, and to then No. 5 Notre Dame, 19-14. Pitt did beat then No. 23 Virginia 23-13 during the win streak.
Clemson comes into the game ranked No. 2 and a win will ensure the Tigers a fourth straight trip to the College Football Playoff.
The teams are a contrast in style.
Clemson is a high-flying offense that scores 45.7 points per game while the Tigers defense yields just 14 per contest. It’s a balanced offense that averages 282.8 yards per game through the air and 256.3 on the ground. Defensively, the Tigers yield just 84.8 yards per contest on the ground and 198.4 through the air.
Pitt averages 28 points per game while allowing 27.75. The Panthers are ground-oriented having rushed for an average of 232.7 per contest while throwing for 153.42. On defense, Pitt allows 174.3 on the ground and 225.58 through the air.
Trevor Lawrence stepped in and took the job from last year’s ACC Title game MVP, Kelly Bryant, who is no longer on the team and is in the process of transferring to another school.
Lawrence was named the ACC Rookie of the Year after completing 66.2 percent (200 of 302) of his passes for 2,488 yards and 22 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions.
Tee Higgins is the top receiving threat for the Tigers with 49 catches for 766 yards and eight scores. Amari Rodgers adds 47 grabs for 419 yards and four touchdowns, Hunter Renfrow has 41 catches for 472 yards and a score and Justyn Rose has caught 32 balls for 629 yards and six touchdowns.
Travis Etienne leads the ground game with 1,307 yards and 19 touchdowns and is complemented by Lyn-J Dixon’s 531 yards and four scores. Adam Choice has added 455 yards and six touchdowns with Tavien Feaster rushing for 379 yards and six touchdowns.
Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall make Pitt’s offense go.
Ollison has rushed for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns with Hall adding 935 yards and nine scores.
Sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett is 165 of 265 passing for 1,825 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Pickett’s top targets are Taysir Mack (21 catches, 489 yards, 1 TD), Maurice Ffrench (30 catches, 466 yards, 6 TDs) and Rafael Araujo-Lopes (34 catches, 357 yards, 4 TDs).
Pitt is coming off its worst rushing performance of the year when it ran for just 69 yards in the loss to Miami. The loss of center two-year starting center Jimmy Morrissey seemed to cause an issue for the Panthers in that game.
NOTES — Both teams are bowl-eligible … This is just the third meeting between the Panthers and the Tigers. In addition to Pitt’s 2016 win, the Panthers also beat Clemson, 34-3, in the 1977 Gator Bowl … Clemson would be the first Power Five team to win four consecutive conference title game since Florida won four straight SEC Championship Games between 1993-96 … The game will be played on the 10th anniversary of Dabo Swinney being named as Clemson’s full-time head coach on Dec. 1, 2008. Clemson is 113-30 under Swinney, including a 109-27 mark in his 10 full seasons … The game will be televised on ABC and can also be heard on ESPN Radio and the Pitt IMG Sports Radio Network … Pitt’s 2018 regular-season slate was widely considered one of the nation’s toughest … Narduzzi is 2-0 as a head coach against teams ranked No. 2. In addition to the Clemson victory (ranked No. 3/2) in 2016, the Panthers defeated No. 2/2 Miami, 24-14, to close the 2017 regular season … When unranked, Pitt has won four consecutive games against top-3 teams dating back to the 2002 season … Pitt is 1-1 in games played in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. Both contests were bowl games. The Panthers defeated North Carolina, 19-17, in the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl and lost to Virginia, 23-16, in the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl.
