Pitt, Penn State close seasons with bowl games
Associated Press
Pitt and Penn State both hope to close out their football seasons on a winning note in their bowl games on Saturday.
The Panthers play East Carolina in the Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland at 11 a.m.
Penn State goes up against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City with a noon kickoff.
Pitt (8-4) is 2-5 in bowl games under head coach Pat Narduzzi with its last win coming in 2022 over UCLA in the Sun Bowl.
This will be the Panthers’ second trip to the Military Bowl and its fifth meeting with East Carolina with the teams splitting their first four games. They last played in 1992 with the Pirates winning 37-31.
East Carolina (8-4) goes into the game as a 10-point underdog and without star quarterback Katin Houser, leading rusher London Montgomery and several of its top wide receivers. The Pirates will also be without both their offensive and defensive coordinators.
Pitt will be led by freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel but running back Desmond Reid will not be participating due to injury.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Penn State (6-6) will be playing under interim head coach Terry Smith who is 3-3 after taking over for James Franklin.
Smith will remain on staff with former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell who was hired to replace Franklin.
The Nittany Lions had national championship aspirations before plummeting out of contention with consecutive losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern after a 3-0 start against a non-challenging non-conference schedule. Franklin was fired after the loss to the Wildcats. Smith stepped into a difficult situation but after three more losses he righted the ship and Penn State finished the regular season on a three-game winning streak to at least salvage a bowl game out of a disappointing season.
Clemson (7-5) and Penn State will be playing each other for just the second time with the Tigers victorious in their only other meeting, 35-10 in the 1988 Citrus Bowl.
This will be the Nittany Lions’ 57th postseason game which is tied for eighth all time. Their record is 33-21-2.
Ethan Grunkemeyer has been a pleasant surprise since taking over at quarterback for the injured Drew Allar midseason and owns the best completion percentage in a season in program history (minimum 100 passes).
Penn State will have just one of their duo of 1,000-yard running backs with Nicholas Singleton opting to sit out the game while Kaytron Allen will play.
The Tigers are a 3.5-point favorite.