Three ACC Games for Pitt Fans to Watch During the Bye Week

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are dormant this week as they call it halftime on the 2022 season. Six games down, six more to go as conference play heats up and there are some key games to keep an eye on all around the ACC.

Pitt's Coastal Division hopes and potential opponents for the ACC Championship game will become clearer after this weekend.

UNC at Duke, Saturday 8:00 pm, ACC Network

First place is the ACC's Coastal Division will be on the line when Duke and UNC meet at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham for the 109th battle for the Victory Bell.

The Blue Devils' rebuild under first-year head coach Mike Elko is well ahead of schedule. Duke's two losses at the hands of resurgent Kansas and Georgia Tech have come on the road by a combined 11 points. They have not yet lost at home and will look to overtake first place in the Coastal Division from the current frontrunners, the Tar Heels, who lead the conference in scoring at 42.3 points per game.

No. 15 NC State at No. 18 Syracuse, Saturday 3:30 pm

The undefeated Orange face their first big test of the season this weekend when they host the 5-1 Wolfpack at the JMA Wireless Dome.

NC State lost a competitive game to Clemson in Death Valley last weekend, so they'll need some help if they want to earn their first ACC Championship game in program history. The Orange, on the other hand, control their own destiny heading as they hit a brutal portion of their schedule that includes this date with the Wolfpack, a road trip to Clemson, a home game against Notre Dame before facing Pitt, resurgent Florida State and Wake Forest next month.

No. 4 Clemson at Florida State, Saturday 7:30 pm, ABC

Speaking of those resurgent Seminoles, they are set to host the biggest home game since 2016, when they were ranked No. 12 and hosted these same Tigers, then ranked No. 4.

Clemson isn't the same team they were in 2016, when they went 14-1 (who did that lone loss come to? None other than the Pitt Panthers) and won the national title, but they are still a title contender and Florida State still has an outside chance of winning the Atlantic Division despite their 2-2 conference record. They can do themselves and a lot of other teams a big favor by pulling the upset at Doak Campbell Stadium in primetime.

Both teams bring stingy defenses that rank in the top four of the ACC in scoring and yards allowed. The Tiger offense is steadily improving and Florida State's strong rushing attack will face an uphill battle against the league's best run-stoppers in Clemson.

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