Pitt 30 North Carolina 23 OT - 2021 ACC Football

Pitt Chases Coastal Title On The Heels Of Beating North Carolina

Byadmin November 17, 2021

Winning a title is never easy – in any sport, in any division.

For all the abuse the Coastal Division of the ACC Conference takes, it happens to be a very solid and competitively balanced group of teams. The truth is there is a lot of parity in college football right now except for maybe 5-10 teams. For Pitt, the secret of its success has been player development. Even recruiting has been a bit sub-par for the Panthers compared to its peers.

So here comes one of those peers, the Virginia Cavaliers, to battle Pitt for the Coastal crown this Saturday at 3:30pm on Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA on ESPN2.

Pitt is 5-2 against UVA since joining the ACC and 8-4 overall. One of those losses however occurred the last time these 2 teams met in the 2019 opening game. The Cavs won 30-16 on the same field.

But things have changed since then. Bryce Perkins is in the NFL; a backup with the LA Rams.

Kenny Pickett is now a 5th year senior and not a sophomore. He’s thrown all over the ACC and out of conference opponents this year for 3517 yards, 32 TDs and 4 INTs.

The real question in this game is whether Cavalier QB Brennan Armstrong (cracked ribs) who’s thrown for 3557 yards, 27 TDs and 8 INTs will play. If not, expect Pitt to cruise. If he does, we expect a close game from 2 gun-slinging QBs.

Virginia comes into the game with only 12 team sacks all season. This ranks 121st in college football. Why does this matter? Give Kenny Pickett enough time to throw and it can ugly and fast. The Pitt OL has been middle of the road in Sacks Allowed (65th) with 22 sacks allowed per game.

Both teams are very below average running teams. UVA has rushed for 1380 yards (90th) while Pitt has rushed for 1580 yards (72) this year.

Virginia (especially with Armstrong), though, is ranked 2nd in passing (3805 yards) while Pitt is 5th (3731 yards) in the nation.

This game will come down to turnovers and defensive secondaries.

Both teams have rather horrid stats in passing yards allowed. UVA is 84th with 2398 yards allowed while Pitt is 87th with 2429 yards allowed.