UNC vs. Pitt: Who you got?

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Last week, the North Carolina Tar Heels football team played Notre Dame a little closer than I and many others would’ve guessed. However, they still ended up falling by multiple touchdowns in the end. There were still some positives you could take away from that game, but it still goes in the loss column no matter what.

This week, the Tar Heels are now hitting the road to take on Pitt this afternoon. Since the Panthers have joined the ACC, UNC and Pitt have played a lot of close games. The series history since 2013 features multiple overtime games and six others decided by a touchdown or less. Pitt won the last meeting by 10 two years ago, but UNC hold the edge 8-3 since the Panthers joined the conference.

This year’s Pitt team is off to a pretty decent start. They come into this weekend’s 5-0 and ranked #25 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Their best win came over Virginia Tech in their last game, however that one was the subject of some controversy. What would’ve been a game-winning field goal from the Hokies was ruled no good, although it was mighty close, and Tech players and fans certainly thought they had made it and won the game.

However on the field and on replay review, the field goal was ruled wide, giving Pitt the win and maintaining their undefeated record going into this weekend. Before today’s game, I want to know if they’ll keep that mark for another week or if UNC can picked up a ranked win. For today’s question of the day, who you got in this afternoon’s UNC-Pitt game?

One major storyline going into today’s game is that Pitt will be without their quarterback, as Mason Heintschel suffered a season-ending ACL tear in that Virginia Tech game. In his place, the Panthers will be starting fifth-year senior Holden Geriner. In relief of Heintschel last week, Geriner went 8-12 for 78 yards and a touchdown. For the season, he’s 19-26 for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Geriner is well-traveled, having previously had stops at Auburn and Texas State, and was once a four-star recruit. It’s hard to know what exactly to read into his small sample of playing this season, but those numbers aren’t awful.

Then, of course, it’s still hard to fully trust UNC. They looked okay at points against Notre Dame, and have had periods of looking decent in every game so far. Yet despite that, they’re still just .500 and their one good win — over TCU — has taken hits since that victory. Facing a backup quarterback, I think the Tar Heels should be able to at least keep it close, but I still think Pitt ends up edging a 24-21 win.

That’s my pick, but now we want to hear from you. Who do you think is going to win today’s UNC-Pitt game?

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