Now Narduzzi, you have to pull a Franklin



… somehow, I missed the "surge

I just read a headline from a local newspaper that referred to "Surging Pitt." I must have been in hibernation.

I missed that surge.

Yes, the Panthers defeated Georgia Tech and Virginia in the past two games. Both teams have just one win in the ACC, and Va. is 2-5 overall. GT is 4-3 with wins over Mercer and FCS Ga. Southern.

Not exacly marquee victories.

However, now Pitt faces the meat of its schedule, and Narduzzi -- who lost to Navy in his first bowl game at Pitt -- is struggling with something that James Franklin was going into Penn State's last quarter against Ohio State.

He has no signature win.

The Panthers are playing Va. Tech tonight. A few weeks ago I said that the Hokies looked good after a win over North Carolina, but then they went to Syracuse and lost to the woeful Orange.

So, while VT is a 4-point favorite, this is not that great a team that Pitt faces tonight.

Still, Narduzzi needs a win -- desperately. That is because if he is going to get a signature win, it will not be against the #25 Hokies, but two weeks from now against the #3 Clemson Tigers.

That is the second-year coach's opportunity to make a name for himself, and to bring the Panthers into the Top 25.

Next week, the Panthers must travel to tropical Miami for a battle with the enimagatic Hurricanes. Miami was 4-0 when it lost a 1-point heartbreaker to Florida State, starting a 3-game losing streak with a trip to Notre Dame looming on Saturday.

A month ago, I thought that Pitt might go 0-3 during this stretch. Now, I think that is unlikely, but they need a win tonight and one in Miami to go into Clemson, S.C. with a true "surge."

Then, Narduzzi can convince me, and most of the Pitt faithful, that he can pull off the signature win.

Franklin won a reprieve from the ever-hateful Penn State fan base last week, and it may give him a 9-win season. Or maybe not.

Narduzzi needs to have his Panthers pull off two consecutive wins before he can say that his team is "surging."

Two wins would set up an interesting battle in Clemson.

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