When Tennessee heads up to Pittsburgh,
it will mark the first time in school history the Panthers will host a team from the SEC.
But these teams have familiarity with each other, after Pitt went on the road last year to beat the Vols 41-34 -- a game that set the early tone en route to an ACC championship season. Yet despite having recently proved Pitt can beat Tennessee, the Vols enter the game as favorites.
When asked how the Panthers could be underdogs in this game,
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said in a phone interview with ESPN.com on Wednesday, "They've got players, and I guess everybody's saying we don't have Kenny Pickett, so Kenny Pickett must have been the difference last year in the win."
Narduzzi then pointed to the turnover margin: Pitt had three takeaways to zero for Tennessee. Pitt also won the turnover margin in a 38-31 win over West Virginia the previous week, but the defense did not play as well as Narduzzi wanted.
West Virginia gained 190 yards rushing -- the highest total Pitt has given up since the final regular-season game in 2019 -- and its bigger receivers often had success against the smaller Pitt defensive backs.
That is one of the biggest keys to watch in this game, as Tennessee wideouts
Bru McCoy (6-3) and
Cedric Tillman (6-3) both have size advantages. Narduzzi also pointed out
Jalin Hyatt and his speed, in particular. When asked about this matchup,
Narduzzi said, "I feel good; otherwise, I'd forfeit the game and not play. There's always going to be challenges. We have to play great defense, that's for sure. It's not going to be easy."
Then there is Volunteers quarterback
Hendon Hooker, who came into their matchup a year ago in relief of
Joe Milton III and nearly rallied Tennessee for the win. Once Hooker entered the game, Tennessee averaged 6.2 yards per play, as compared to 4.2 with Milton behind center.
There is more than just their game last year that provides familiarity. Narduzzi's Panthers played against Tennessee coach Josh Heupel when Heupel coached
UCF, and Pitt faced Hooker when Hooker was the starting quarterback at
Virginia Tech in from 2019 to 2020. --
Andrea Adelson