Streaking Pittsburgh gets a final tune-up before a regular-season-ending gauntlet when the Panthers trek across the country to take on Stanford in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday afternoon in Stanford, Calif.
Led by freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel, the Panthers (6-2, 4-1 ACC) have exploded for 165 points during a four-game winning streak that has allowed them to vault into the ACC title-game picture.
The Panthers will get a shot at one of the teams ahead of them — Georgia Tech — when they finish the regular season with matchups against No. 12 Notre Dame and No. 10 Miami sandwiching a showdown against the No. 8 Yellow Jackets.
But first things first, and Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi has warned his team not to overlook Stanford, which has played well at home this season.
“It’s a one-game season right now,” he insisted to reporters on Monday. “Our focus is to go 1-0 this week.”
Heintschel became the first Power Four conference freshman this season to pass for 400 yards and three touchdowns in a game when he threw for 423 yards in last week’s 53-34 home win over North Carolina State.
The ACC named the Ohio native as its Rookie of the Week.
The Panthers will see a Stanford (3-5, 2-3) team that’s looked completely different at home than on the road this season. The Cardinal has gone 3-0 at home, including a 20-13 win over Florida State in their most recent outing in front of their fans on Oct. 18, but have yet to win (0-5) on the road, the most recent defeat a 42-7 thumping at Miami last week.
The Cardinal retain a shot at making a bowl but need to beat the Panthers to keep those hopes alive.
“Everything is still in front of us,” Stanford interim head coach Frank Reich reminded reporters this week. “We’re 3-0 at home; that means something. We’re proud of that; we’re looking to build upon that. We know that’s going to be a challenge against a good team, but we’ve had some other good teams come in here and we just got to play good football. That’s what it comes down to.”
Running back Cole Tabb led the way against Florida State with 118 rushing yards and one TD on 28 carries, but he was limited by Miami to 64 yards on 19 attempts.
Micah Ford leads Stanford with 425 rushing yards, followed by Tabb at 376 in seven games. Ben Gulbranson has passed for 1,585 yards, eight TDs and seven interceptions in eight games.
