Pitt Hosts North Carolina in Big ACC Matchup Thursday Night

| November 14, 2019


PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Pitt plays a huge ACC home game at 8 p.m. Thursday when North Carolina visits Heinz Field.

(Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)

Pitt Game Notes

The Panthers (6-3 overall, 3-2 ACC) are currently tied in the loss column for first place with Virginia and Virginia Tech, although Virginia has two more conference wins and a win over Pitt.

North Carolina is just a game back in the loss column and a 1/2 game back of the Panthers are 3-3 in ACC play. The Tar Heels are 4-5 overall. North Carolina, back under the direction of head coach Mack Brown, needs two wins for bowl eligibility.

Watch Pat Narduzzi’s weekly media conference. Video courtesy of Pitt LiveWire.

This is the third consecutive time Pitt has hosted North Carolina on a Thursday night. The Tar Heels claimed weeknight victories at Heinz in 2015 and 2017.

The last time Mack Brown coached against Pitt was 35 years ago when Brown was Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator. The Sooners rolled past the Panthers in Pitt Stadium, 42-10, on Sept. 15, 1984.

Narrow margins have been the rule during recent Pitt-UNC series history. The past eight meetings have been decided by a combined 31 points (3.9 points per game). The Tar Heels edged Pitt last year, 38-35, in Chapel Hill.

Since 2013, North Carolina is the only team in the Coastal that Pitt has not beaten. The Panthers are 0-6 against the Tar Heels in ACC play. North Carolina also leads the overall series, 10-3.

Pitt’s last victory in the series occurred in the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte. Dave Wannstedt’s Panthers edged the Tar Heels (coached by Butch Davis), 19-17, on a field goal with 52 seconds left.

Since taking over as Pitt’s head coach for the 2015 season, Pat Narduzzi has directed the Panthers to 23 victories in ACC play, trailing only Clemson (37) and Miami (25) during that span.

SERIES NOTES

This is the 14th meeting between Pitt and North Carolina in a series that dates back to 1974…10 of the 13 games have been decided by single digits, including each of the last eight contests…the Tar Heels lead the overall series, 10-3, and have won all six ACC encounters, including last season’s 38-35 decision in Chapel Hill…Pitt and North Carolina meet annually as members of the ACC’s Coastal Division…the Panthers are 2-4 against the Tar Heels in Pittsburgh and 0-6 in Chapel Hill…Pitt won the lone neutral site meeting, 19-17, in the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte…bowl MVP Dion Lewis rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown, while Dan Hutchins provided the winning points on a 33-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to upend the Tar Heels…that 2009 bowl victory capped a 10-3 season for Pitt…the Panthers’ only two regular-season wins in the series both occurred in Pittsburgh: 20-16 in 1978 and 7-6 in 1982…the 1982 game served as the opener for both schools and was a battle of preseason Top 5 teams in Three Rivers Stadium…Pitt, led by quarterback Dan Marino, was the preseason No. 1 team, while North Carolina, which featured tailback Kelvin Bryant, was No. 5…the ’82 game was played in Three Rivers Stadium to accommodate a weeknight CBS prime-time TV audience.


Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.

Category: Uncategorized