Pitt missed out on bigger things late in the regular season, but the Panthers still can capture a nice finishing prize.
Pitt takes on East Carolina in the Military Bowl on Saturday at Annapolis, Md.
The roster for East Carolina (8-4) looks ravaged by departures, but that can’t be a concern for the Panthers.
“It really doesn’t matter. They are football players and they all got hearts,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “It comes down to who plays with more toughness and who wants it the most.”
Pitt (8-4) entertained major bowl or College Football Playoff aspirations until the last week of the regular season, when it lost to Miami a week after winning at nationally ranked Georgia Tech. The Panthers also had a November loss to Notre Dame.
A bowl victory would put Pitt at nine or more victories for the third time in five seasons.
“It’s a celebration and it’s an opportunity to go out and play one more football game with your football team,” Narduzzi said. “This is the last time this ‘25 team will play together. Again, tradition, we try to uphold that tradition all the time.”
The depth chart is largely intact for Pitt other than linebacker Kyle Louis and running back Desmond Reid preparing for the NFL Draft.
The Panthers will look for quarterback Mason Heintschel to continue his strong production. Heintschel, who became a midseason starter with notable successes, has thrown for 15 touchdowns and rushed for two TDs.
It’s not so simple for East Carolina. The Pirates will be without quarterback Katin Houser, who’s intending to enter the transfer portal. He threw for 19 touchdowns and more than 3,000 yards during the regular season.
East Carolina coach Blake Harrell said he hopes his team’s personnel changes at least make Pitt uneasy in preparations.
“Let’s go let it rip, go have fun with it,” Harrell said. “… I’m sure that’s what Pitt’s doing right now, making some preparations for what they think might be coming.”
The Pirates will be without receivers Yannick Smith and Jayvontay Conner, who combined for more than 900 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Both entered the transfer portal.
This is further complicated by the departure of offensive coordinator John David Baker.
This puts Mike Wright (formerly of Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Northwestern) and/or Chaston Ditta in the quarterback role for East Carolina.
“Somebody has to stand back there and take some snaps,” Harrell said. “Thankfully, we’ve had some guys do that this year. Chaston Ditta has taken some snaps back there. Mike Wright has taken some snaps back there.”
Then this week, word came that running back London Montgomery, who led East Carolina with 742 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, is skipping the bowl in advance of exiting the program.
East Carolina is trying to win the Military Bowl for the second year in a row against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent after defeating North Carolina State last December. Harrell was finishing his first partial season as head coach in that postseason game.
It’s easy this time for the Pirates to be in the underdog role.
“We’ve got 30 seniors playing their last college football game with each other and for the Pirates,” Harrell said.
Defensive coordinator Josh Aldrich also left East Carolina, heading to South Florida. Defensive line coach Roy Tesh will oversee the defense, though Harrell will return to a role as defensive play caller.
Pitt is 2-5 under Narduzzi in bowls. His first bowl with the Panthers was in the Military Bowl 10 years ago in a loss to Navy.
