North Carolina football vs Pittsburgh first look: odds, key matchup, how to watch
Many watching Pittsburgh’s game Saturday against West Virginia probably had the same thought: Pitt’s offense? Not so good.
West Virginia punched out a 17-6 victory as the Panthers could muster a little more than 200 yards in total offense. Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec, the transfer from Boston College, completed eight of 20 throws for 81 yards and had three picked off.
The flip side: Pitt’s defense didn’t give up much, either. West Virginia had 211 yards in total offense, passing for just 60 yards and rushing for 151. Then again, West Virginia lost starting quarterback Garrett Greene to an injury in the first quarter and played conservatively.
UNC coach Mack Brown likely will talk more about that Pitt D and less about those Pitt offensive struggles this week as the Tar Heels, coming off a 31-13 win over Minnesota, play their first ACC game of the season in Pittsburgh.
The Tar Heels’ victory was built on 414 yards passing from Drake Maye and some impressive pass-catching numbers from Nate McCollum: 15 receptions, 165 yards. The Heels (3-0) did not run the ball all that well but didn’t need to – until it needed to.
UNC ran off the final four minutes of the game with six running plays by Omarion Hampton and British Brooks.
“It just shows the versatility of this offense,” Maye said. “We’re going to take what the defense gives us and hurt them on the opportunities we have, whether it’s deep shots, whether it’s feeding Omarion or British 40 times a game, or me getting outside the pocket and making plays or hitting our weapons downfield.
“We’ve got a lot going offensively for us. And we still haven’t played our best.”
That has to be Pitt’s biggest concern this week. UNC, ranked No. 17, has offensive weapons and now has McCollum healthy and another threat. Add in the Panthers’ offensive problems and the Pitt defense could be under some serious stress this week in the 8 p.m. game at Acrisure Stadium.
Maye passed for 388 yards and five TDs a year ago in the Heels’ 42-24 win.
UNC player to watch: Power Echols
The junior linebacker is coming off perhaps his most complete game of the season, with a team-high nine tackles, including seven solos. Echols also had one of the Heels’ two interceptions, grabbing the ball after Minnesota’s Brevyn Spann-Ford bobbled a pass crossing the middle.
Linebacker Ced Gray is the Heels’ defensive leader but Gray and Echols are among the ACC’s best inside tandems.
Key matchup: Jurkovec vs the D
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi still has confidence in Jurkovec, it seems. The Pitt players still have confidence in him. Where is Jurkovec’s own confidence level? Only he knows.
Narduzzi was asked by a Pittsburgh reporter after Saturday’s game if Jurkovec would remain the starter for the UNC game. “I believe so, yes,” Narduzzi replied.
Jurkovec, a Pittsburgh native, started at QB three seasons at Boston College before the transfer to Pitt. He has the experience. He has had some big games and some poor games. The West Virginia game was a poor one.
Vegas odds
The Tar Heels have been made a 6.5-point favorite over the Panthers in the early lines. The over/under is 50 points.
How to watch
The UNC-Pitt game will be shown on the ACC Network on Spectrum for those with cable. Satellite options include DirecTV and Dish Network or stream it on such services as DIRECTV Stream, fuboTB, Hulu + Live TV, SlingTV and YouTube TV.
North Carolina (3-0) at Pittsburgh (1-2)
When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
Where: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh.
TV: ACC Network.
Series history: UNC has an 11-5 edge in the series, winning last year’s game 42-24 in Chapel Hill as Drake Maye passed for five touchdowns.
This story was originally published September 18, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
