Pittsburgh (2-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) at Wake Forest (3-3, 0-3), Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
Line: Wake Forest by 1 1-2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Series record: Pittsburgh leads 2-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Less than two years after playing for the ACC championship, the Demon Deacons and Panthers are meeting in far different circumstances. The Demon Deacons are off to their first 0-3 league start since 2018, while the Panthers are off to that program's worst start overall since 2017. Both teams are battling to build any type of momentum toward a bowl bid.
KEY MATCHUP
Pittsburgh's pass rush against Wake Forest's offensive line. The Demon Deacons' offensive struggles include giving up a league-worst 29 sacks, while the average (4.83) is worse than any Bowl Subdivision team other than Colorado or Old Dominion. The Panthers come in ranked tied for eighth in FBS with 3.33 sacks per game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Pittsburgh: QB Christian Veilleux. The sophomore transfer from Penn State sparked the upset win over then-14th-ranked Louisville last week. While Veilleux appears more than willing to sling it deep (his two touchdown passes last week came on throws of 46 and 31 yards), he needs to work on his accuracy on shorter routes. Veilleux is completing just 45% of his passes in three appearances this season.
Wake Forest: RB Justice Ellison. The Demon Deacons' quarterback situation has been shaky of late, so getting some reliable rushing production from Ellison would be a help. Ellison ran for 137 yards against Georgia Tech earlier this year, but he has yet to find the end zone.
FACTS & FIGURES
The teams have only met once before in ACC regular-season play, with Pitt taking a 34-13 win in November 2018. The Panthers won the 2021 meeting in the ACC title game by a similar margin (45-21). ... Pitt's injury-ravaged offensive line could get a boost this week if center Jake Kradel returns. Kradel has missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury. The Panthers have had five different offensive line combinations in six games. ... Pitt CB M.J. Devonshire's pick-6 against Louisville last week was the third of his career and the 23rd defensive touchdown during Narduzzi's nine-year tenure. ... Wake Forest pulled starting quarterback Mitch Griffis for Michael Kern in search of its own offensive spark in last week's loss at Virginia Tech, with Kern throwing for 166 yards while taking five sacks. ... The Demon Deacons are 13th in the ACC in scoring offense (23.5) and 10th in total offense (370.2). ... The Panthers are last in the league in first downs in part because they have struggled on third down. Pitt is 13th in the ACC in third-down conversion percentage (34.7).
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
