#17 PITT (10-2, 7-1 ACC) VS. #18 WAKE FOREST (10-2, 7-1 ACC)
SATURDAY, 8 P.M., ABC
BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM; CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
The Series
All Games: Pitt leads 1-0
In Bowls and at Neutral Sites: First meeting
In ACC Play: Pitt leads 1-0
The Coaches
Pat Naduzzi: 52-36 in 7th season at Pitt and overall
Dave Clawson: 50-47 in 8th season at Wake Forest; 140-127 in 22nd season overall
Last Meeting: Pitt 34, Wake Forest 13 (Nov. 17, 2018)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – QB Kenny Pickett threw a then career-best three touchdown passes, all in the second half, and Pittsburgh beat Wake Forest 34-13 to clinch its first berth in the ACC Championship Game. Pickett finished 23 of 30 for a career-high 316 yards with scoring passes of 4 yards to Rafael AraujoJones, 63 yards to Taysir Mack and 23 yards to Maurice Ffrench. Darrin Hall
had a 2-yard touchdown run and left tackle Stefano Millin added a late 6-yard scoring run for the Panthers, who won their fourth straight. QB Jamie Newman was 15 of 30 for 206 yards with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Alex Bachman for the Demon Deacons. Pitt had a huge advantage in time of possession, finishing at 39 minutes, 31 seconds, while Wake Forest was at 20:29. The Panthers ran 77 offensive plays to a season-low 58 for the Demon Deacons. Pitt had three scoring drives that each exceeded both 10 plays and 5 minutes
The Panthers are set for their second Subway ACC Football Championship Game since joining the conference in 2013 • Pitt earned its first trip in 2018, becoming the sixth different team in six years to represent the Coastal Division • Pitt fell to eventual national champion Clemson 42-10 in that contest • This year’s Panthers seek their third overall conference championship after claiming a share of the Big East Conference title in both 2004 and 2010 • Pitt competed as an independent from 1890 through 1990 • The Panthers won their only previous meeting versus the Demon Deacons, a 34-13 road victory in November of 2018 that clinched a berth in the ACC Football Championship Game • Pitt seeks the first ACC title by a Coastal Division team since 2010, when Virginia Tech defeated Florida State 44-33 in the first championship game played at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium • With seven ACC wins this season, Pitt posted its best conference record in its nine seasons in the league • Seven is also the most conference wins by any Pitt team in any conference in program history • Pitt now won 10 regular-season games for the first time since the 1981 season • The Panthers are 5-0 in games away
from home in 2021 • With 40 touchdown passes this season, QB Kenny Pickett has broken Dan Marino’s 40-year-old Pitt record for single-season touchdown passes • Marino threw 37 in 1981, and the mark was tied in 2003 by Rod Rutherford • Pickett’s 40 TD passes are also the most in ACC regular-season history • Pickett now has 79 career TD passes, matching Marino’s Pitt career total set from 1979-82 • Pickett has thrown multiple touchdowns in every game this season, a first for a Pitt quarterback • With more than 4,000 passing yards and 40 passing scores this season, Pickett became only the third QB in ACC history to achieve both of those milestones (Jameis Winston in 2013, Deshaun Watson in 2016) • Pickett moved into second place in ACC career passing yards with 12,050 • Picket trails only Philip Rivers, who tossed for 13,484 yards at NC State from 2000-03 • WR Jordan Addison’s 17 receiving TDs this fall are the second-most in both Pitt and ACC history for a single season • The Panthers are 27-7 under Pat Narduzzi when holding an opponent under 100 yards rushing • Pitt has registered at least five quarterback sacks in each of its last four games and is 21-1 when sacking the opposing QB at least five times (all-under Naduzzi) • With 52 wins at Pitt, Narduzzi is tied for Walt Harris for fourth place in the school’s all-time coaching victories list.
Wake Forest makes its second appearance in the Subway ACC Football Championship Game and the first since 2006, when PK Sam Swank’s three field goals lifted the Demon Deacons to a 9-6 win over Georgia Tech at Jacksonville, Florida • The Demon Deacons seek their third ACC title overall, with the first coming in 1970 prior to the conference’s current championship game format • Wake Forest’s 10-2 record this season marks the second time in program history that it has won double-digit games • The Demon Deacons’ seven league victories are the most in program history • Wake Forest is one of six schools to earn multiple berths in the ACC Championship • Wake Forest’s current average of 42.9 points per game is a school record • Wake Forest has averaged at least 31.8 points per game each of the past five seasons • The Demon Deacons’ current streak of five consecutive bowl game appearances ranks third in the ACC, trailing only Clemson and Miami • The Demon Deacons’ 37 wins since the start of the 2017 season is third among all ACC teams • QB Sam Hartman’s 3,711 yards passing this season are a single-season school record, surpassing the 3,192 set by John Wolford in 2017 • Hartman’s 8,749 career yards passing rank fourth on the school’s all-time list and he needs just 151 yards to move up to second place • With two touchdown catches in last Saturday’s 41-10 win over Boston College that clinched Wake Forest’s spot in the ACC Football Championship Game, wide receiver A.T. Perry now holds the school record for TD receptions in a season with 13 • Perry and fellow WR Jaquarii Roberson have combined for 2,136 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns this season • During his time at Wake Forest, PK Nick Sciba is 75-of-84 (.893) on field goal tries, the third-best mark for any kicker in NCAA and ACC history (minimum 50 attempts) • Sciba ranks fourth in ACC history with 418 career points and needs 13 more to move up to third place on the conference’s all-time list • Head coach Dave Clawson is now 50-47 in his eight-year tenure with the Demon Deacons • Clawson is one of just five head coaches in program history to have a winning record in his coaching career at Wake Forest and the first since D.C. “Peahead” Walker (77-51-6 from 1937-50) to do so • Wake Forest is 15-2 at home since the start of the 2019 season and earned a perfect 6-0 mark this season • The unblemished home record in 2021 was the Deacons’ first since 1979 and just the third time since Wake Forest’s 1970 ACC Championship team.
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS NOTES
Game Storylines
• Pitt makes its second appearance in the ACC Football Championship Game, where it will face Wake Forest. The Panthers captured the Coastal Division with a program-best 7-1 ACC mark.
• Pitt previously played in the title game in 2018, when it lost to eventual College Football Playoff champion Clemson. In its lone prior appearance, Wake Forest won the 2006 ACC title by defeating Georgia Tech.
• On the strength of a 10-win regular season—the Panthers’ first since 1981—Pitt is the highest-ranked ACC team in both major polls: No. 15 in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the AP Poll.
• Since 2015, Pat Narduzzi has directed Pitt to 36 victories in ACC play, the third-highest win total during that span. Only Clemson (52) and Miami (37) have won more.
• All-America candidate Kenny Pickett is a finalist for four prestigious national honors: the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Maxwell Award and Senior
CLASS Award.
• Pickett has thrown a Pitt-record 40 touchdown passes this season. He is one TD pass shy of the ACC record set by Clemson’s Deshaun Watson over a 15-game span in 2016.
• Pickett has thrown 79 career touchdown passes, tied for the most in Pitt history with the legendary Dan Marino.
• Wide receiver Jordan Addison is also producing at an All-America level. A Biletnikoff Award finalist, Addison leads the country with 17 touchdown catches, the most by a Pitt player since 2003 when Larry Fitzgerald had a school-record 22.
Pitt-Wake Forest History in Brief
Series Began: 2018
Series Overall: Pitt leads 1-0
ACC Series: Pitt leads 1-0
At Pittsburgh: 0-0
At Wake Forest: Pitt leads 1-0
At Neutral Sites: 0-0
Last Meeting at WF: Nov. 17, 2018
(Pitt 34, Wake Forest 13)
Last Meeting at Pitt:
DNA
Current Series Win Streak:
Pitt has won 1 (2018)
Longest Pitt Series Win Streak:
1 game (2018)
Longest WF Series Win Streak:
DNA
SERIES NOTES
Pitt and Wake Forest meet for just the second time…the initial game took place in Winston-Salem on Nov. 17, 2018…the Panthers clinched their first ACC Coastal Division championship with a 34-13 victory \over the host Demon Deacons…both teams are making their second ACC Football Championship Game appearance…Pitt lost to Clemson, 42-10, in the 2018 title game…the Tigers that year went on to win the College Football Playoff championship with a 15-0 record…in its lone prior ACC Championship appearance, Wake Forest edged Georgia Tech, 9-6, for the 2006 title.
TEAM NOTES
• Since taking over as Pitt’s head coach in 2015, Pat Narduzzi has directed the Panthers to 36 victories in ACC play, the third-highest win total during that span. The Panthers trail only Clemson (52) and Miami (37).
• Since 2015, Narduzzi is one of only two coaches nationwide with multiple victories over Clemson. He is 2-2 against the Tigers with wins in 2016 (43-42) and 2021 (27-17). The other coach is Alabama’s Nick Saban, who is also 2-2 against Clemson during that time frame.
COASTAL CHAMPS:
• Pitt won the 2021 Coastal Division title with a program-best 7-1 record in ACC play.
• This is Pitt’s second Coastal title, previously winning the division in 2018 with a 6-2 mark. The Panthers fell in the ACC Championship Game, 42-10, to eventual national champion Clemson.
• Since the 2013 season, when the ACC expanded, Pitt is the first Coastal team to win the division twice.
• Pitt won seven ACC games for the first time ever. The Panthers’ previous best conference record was 6-2 (2015 and 2018).
• As Big East members from 1993-2012, the Panthers’ most wins in conference was five. Pitt finished 5-2 in Big East play five separate
times (2002, 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2010).
• The Panthers shared the Big East title twice: 2010 and 2004 (with a 4-2 mark).
• The 2004 squad earned the Big East’s BCS berth through tiebreakers and advanced to the Fiesta Bowl.
• Pitt won 10 regular-season games for the first time since 1981.
• The Panthers’ last 10-win season overall was in 2009. That year Pitt secured its 10th win with a 19-17 decision over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl played in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
• Pitt last achieved an 11-win season in 1981 under Coach Jackie Sherrill. The Panthers went 10-1 in the regular season and defeated Georgia, 24-20, in the Sugar Bowl.
• The school record for victories in a season is 12. That mark was achieved by Coach Johnny Majors’ 1976 Panthers. Led by Heisman
Trophy-winning running back Tony Dorsett, Pitt went 12-0 en route to that year’s national championship.
ON A ROLL:
• Dating back to last season, Pitt has won 13 of its past 16 games.
• That span includes a 3-1 mark to close the 2020 season and this year’s 10-2 record.
• It is Pitt’s winningest stretch since 2008-09, when Dave Wannstedt’s Panthers also went 13-3 over a 16-game span.
BIG ACC WINS:
• Pitt won its four ACC road games this season by an average margin of 23.5 points. The Panthers’ smallest margin of victory in an ACC
road game this year occurred when they defeated Syracuse by 17 points (31-14) on Nov. 27.
• Before the Syracuse victory, Pitt had won three consecutive ACC road games by 20-plus points: 52-21 at Georgia Tech (Oct. 2), 28-7 at Virginia Tech (Oct. 16) and 54-29 at Duke (Nov. 6).
• The 31-point win over Georgia Tech marked Pitt’s largest margin of victory in an ACC road game and the Panthers’ third largest win overall in ACC play.
ROAD WARRIORS:
• Pitt went 5-0 on the road this season, defeating Syracuse (31-14), Duke (54-29), Virginia Tech (28-7), Georgia Tech (52-21) and Tennessee (41-34).
• Pitt last compiled an undefeated road record in 1987, when the Craig “Ironhead” Heyward-led Panthers went 4-0 away from home.
• Prior to 1987, Pitt last went undefeated on the road in 1981. That squad, led by quarterback Dan Marino, was 5-0 on the road and
finished the year 11-1 and ranked No. 2 by United Press International.
PITT’S “SUPER SENIORS”:
• The Panthers’ 2021 roster has 12 players designated as “super seniors.”
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA did not count the 2020 season against a student-athlete’s eligibility clock, allowing these 12 players to suit up for Pitt with an additional year of eligibility. √ Super seniors are listed as “SR+” on Pitt’s roster.
• Wide receiver Tre Tipton and linebacker John Petrishen are actually seventh-year seniors, having received prior eligibility waivers due to seasons lost because of injury.
• Tipton is one of only eight players nationwide who will play a seventh collegiate season at the same school.
WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS NOTES
KEY STORYLINES
EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
• 500-PLUS CLUB: Wake Forest became just the 82nd team in the college football modern era (Post-WWII) to cross over the milestone of 500 points scored in a single season. Additionally, the Deacs are one of just four ACC schools to reach the milestone (Florida St., Clemson, Pitt):
ACC Teams to Reach 500 Points in a Single Season
723 – Florida State (2013)
664 – Clemson (2018)
563 – Florida State (1995)
536 – Florida State (1993)
522 – Clemson (2020)
515 – Wake Forest (2021)
514 – Pitt (2021)
513 – Florida State (1992)
511 – Florida State (2000)
• AMONG THE NATION’S BEST: Wake Forest also is third in the nation and leads the league in scoring per game at 42.9 PPG.
THE ONLY IN NORTH CAROLINA
• Wake Forest, who won the 2006 ACC Championship title, holds the unique distinction of being the only North Carolina school to claim the title in the Championship era.
• Additionally, the Demon Deacons are the only program from the state to qualify for multiple league title games and is the only North Carolina school to win the Atlantic Division multiple times:
Wake Forest (2021, 2006)
North Carolina (2015)
Duke (2013)
NC State (Never)
• Wake Forest is one of seven schools to earn multiple berths in the ACC Championship
QB1 CLIMBING THE CHARTS
• Over the past eight games, Hartman has thrown the ball for 3,020 yards, 28 touchdowns while completing his passes at a 51.7 clip. He continues to inch closer to the all-time passing yardage list, becoming the fourth player in program history to throw for over 8,500 yards in his career.
• FINDING THE ENDZONE: Hartman is now the 4th QB in ACC history with 30 pass touchdowns and 10 rush touchdowns in a single season and the first one to do so since Lamar Jackson in 2016.
Wake Forest Career Quarterback Wins
Riley Skinner (2006-09), 31
John Wolford (2014-17), 20
Sam Hartman (2018-pres.), 19
KICKING INTO HISTORY
• Nick Sciba is on his way to becoming the most accurate kicker in NCAA history. During his time at Wake Forest, he is 77-of-86 (.895), the third-best mark for any kicker in NCAA and ACC history (min. 50 att).
NCAA Career Field Goal Percentage (min. 50 attempts)
1. Brett Baer (2009-12) ULL 90.0
T2. Nick Sciba (2018-present) WF 89.5
T2. Alex Henery (2007-10) NEB 89.5
4. Roberto Aguayo (2013-15) FSU 88.5
5. Chris Manfredini (2003-07) TCU 87.7
• Additionally, Sciba holds the school record with 418 points for his career, breaking the school record on his final kick of the Virginia game. He also is fourth in ACC history in points, 12 points away from third.
ACC All-Time Scoring List
1. Travis Etienne 468 2017-20 Clemson
2. Dustin Hopkins 466 2009-12 Florida State
3. Ross Martin 430 2012-15 Duke
4.Nick Sciba* 418 2018-21 Wake Forest
5. Roberto Aguayo 405 2013-15 Florida State
NOTING THE PANTHERS
• Pitt has its first 10-win regular season for the first time since 1981.
• Since 2015, Pat Narduzzi has directed Pitt to 36 victories in ACC play, the third-highest win total during that span.
• Only Clemson and Miami have won more.
• QB Kenny Pickett is having an All-America caliber season.
• Pickett broke Dan Marino’s 40-year-old Pitt record for TD passes in season. He now has 40, eclipsing Marino’s mark of 37
set in 1981.
• Pickett now has 79 career touchdown passes, equaling Marino’s Pitt record.
• Pickett became just the third ACC quarterback to throw for 4,000+ yards and 40+ touchdowns in a season, joining Florida State’s
Jameis Winston (who did it during his 2013 Heisman season) and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson (2016).
• Pickett’s 40 TD passes are an ACC regular-season record. He is one shy of Watson’s ACC season record of 41 set over 15 games
in 2016.
• Pickett is piloting the nation’s No. 4 unit in total offense at 512.8 yards per contest. The Panthers rank fourth nationally in scoring,
averaging 42.8 points a game.
• Wide receiver Jordan Addison is also producing at an All-America level. The sophomore entered Saturday with a nation-leading 17 touchdown catches, the most by a Pitt player since Larry Fitzgerald had a school-record 22 in 2003
• The 2021 season marks Pat Narduzzi’s seventh as Pitt’s Chris
NOTING THE PANTHERS
Bickell ‘97 Head Football Coach.
• Narduzzi has directed the Panthers to two ACC Coastal Division titles. In addition to this year’s crown, Pitt also won the Coastal in 2018.
• Narduzzi has coached four first team All-Americans at Pitt, including three who earned consensus status. In 2020, defensive ends Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver were consensus All-Americans. Pitt was one of only four programs nationwide to have multiple
consensus honorees last season, joining Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
SERIES INFO
• Pitt holds a 1-0-0 lead in the series with the lone game coming in the 2018 season, the only other season Pitt advanced to the ACC
Championship game.
• Wake Forest, who won the 2006 ACC Championship title, holds the unique distinction of being the only North Carolina school to claim the title in the Championship era.
• Additionally, the Demon Deacons are the only program from the state to qualify for multiple league title games and is the only North Carolina school to win the Atlantic Division multiple times:
Wake Forest (2021, 2006)
North Carolina (2015)
Duke (2013)
NC State (Never)
• Wake Forest is one of seven schools to earn multiple berths in the ACC Championship.
