It’s here: the 2021 season is about to begin.
Pitt opens the seventh year of the Pat Narduzzi era this Saturday with a home game against UMass.
Here’s everything you need to know to get the week started.
Time, TV and radio info
Pitt-UMass will kick off at 4 p.m. It will be broadcast on the ACC Network with radio coverage on 93.7 The Fan.
What’s the spread?
As of Monday morning, Pitt is -38.5 against the spread with an over/under set at 55.5, according to scoresandodds.com.
Game week schedule
Pat Narduzzi will hold his weekly press conference on Monday at noon. Select players and assistant coaches will address the media on Tuesday and Wednesday; Narduzzi will also have his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays.
On Thursday, Narduzzi will have his final press briefing of the week.
Here on Panther-Lair.com, The Kenny Pickett Show debuts every Wednesday morning and the Panther-Lair Show live stream airs Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m.
Notes of note
- Saturday’s game will be Pitt’s first contest against UMass. The Minutemen are one of seven independent FBS teams, along with Army, BYU, Connecticut, Liberty, New Mexico State and Notre Dame. Aside from Notre Dame, who came to Heinz Field last season, the Panthers have not faced any of the other current independent teams since being Big East foes with Connecticut (their last meeting was 2012).
- Under Pat Narduzzi, Pitt is 5-1 in season openers. The lone loss came against Virginia in the 2019 opener.
- In the previous six seasons, the Panthers have a 12-2 record against teams outside the Power Five conferences (and Notre Dame). The lone losses were in 2015 against Navy in the Military Bowl and 2018 at UCF.
Weather outlook
According to weather.com, Saturday will have sunshine with some clouds, a high temperature of 76 degrees and less than 10% chance of precipitation.
Top storylines
- As with any preview of Pitt’s offense - for the season or an individual game - the top storyline is the offense: can the Panthers move the ball effectively? UMass will be their first test.
- Within that first storyline is the matter of the running game: how will Pitt’s offensive line and running backs perform against an opponent that should be more or less accommodating.
- On the other side of the ball, the focus will be on how Pitt replaces the defensive starters it lost. The Panthers have recruited well on defense; this season will be a year to show how well the coaches have built the depth.
- As always with games against lower-level competition, one big storyline is health. Pitt needs to have all hands on deck for Week Two at Tennessee and the eight-game ACC slate that starts in October, so coming out of Saturday’s contest with no injuries is crucial.
