No. 12 Pitt (11-2) will face No. 10 Michigan State (10-2) in the Chick Fil-A Peach Bowl on Thursday night. Here’s everything you need to get ready for the game.
Time, TV and radio info
Pitt-Michigan State will kick off at 7 pm on Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, with radio coverage in Pittsburgh on 93.7 The Fan.
What’s the spread?
According to BetMGM.com, Michigan State is a 2.5-point favorite, with the over/under set at 56.
Weather outlook
According to Weather.com, Atlanta will have a high temperature of 71 degrees with a 58% chance of precipitation on Thursday, although Mercedes-Benz Stadium has a retractable dome roof.
Game week schedule
All of Pitt’s media availabilities this week will be conducted by the Chick Fil-A Peach Bowl. The Panthers arrived in Atlanta on Saturday and Pat Narduzzi, Deslin Alexandre and Lucas Krull spoke to the media on Sunday. Interim offensive coordinator Tim Salem and select players are scheduled to address the media on Monday, with defensive coordinator Randy Bates and select players expected on Tuesday.
Notes of note
- Pitt is 0-6-1 all-time against Michigan State. Two of those games happened in 2006 and 2007, when the Panthers and Spartans met in a home-and-home series. The previous five games were all played between 1945 and 1960. The final game in that stretch was a 7-7 tie at Pitt Stadium in 1960.
- Pitt’s last win over a Big Ten team came in 2016, when the Panthers beat Penn State 42-39 at Heinz Field. Since then, they have lost to Northwestern (the 2016 Pinstripe Bowl) and Penn State (2017, 2018 and 2019).
- Pitt also lost to Iowa in 2011, 2014 and 2015. The Panthers’ last win over a Big Ten team prior to the 2016 Penn State game was in 2008, when they knocked off Iowa at Heinz Field.
- The last time Pitt beat a Big Ten team (other than Rutgers) outside of Pittsburgh was 1991, when the Panthers won at Minnesota.
- The Chick Fil-A Peach Bowl will be Pitt’s fifth bowl game under Narduzzi. The Panthers lost their bowl games after the 2015, 2016 and 2018 seasons but won their most recent postseason game when they defeated Eastern Michigan 34-30 in the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl. Pitt opted to not play in a bowl game last season.
Top storylines
- There are several notable storylines for Thursday night’s Peach Bowl. Chief among them is Narduzzi facing Michigan State for the first time since he became Pitt head coach. Narduzzi was defensive coordinator for the Spartans from 2007-14.
- The Peach Bowl also features a matchup of two top-12 teams, as Michigan State was No. 10 in the final College Football Playoff rankings and Pitt was No. 12.
- While Thursday night’s game will feature two top-12 teams, both squads will be missing their top offensive players, as Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett and Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III opted to skip the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft. Pickett was arguably the nation’s top quarterback in 2021 after he threw for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
- Likewise, Walker III was arguably the nation’s top running back after putting up 1,646 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground.
- Pickett will be replaced by Nick Patti, who completed 12-of-14 passes for 140 yards this season. Michigan State’s second-leading rusher this season was Jordon Simmons, who carried the ball 54 times for 255 yards (5.7 yards per carry).
