It's not Metallica vs. Neil Diamond, but Pitt-Virginia Tech worth watching

Virginia Tech has Metallica’s high-intensity “Enter Sandman.”

Pitt has the Neil Diamond ballad, “Sweet Caroline.”

Before you make a rush to judgment, their music choices at games is no comment on the two football programs that clash Saturday in Blacksburg, Va. Both teams are among the best in the ACC (7-3, 4-2 records), with defenses constructed by coaches who’ve made a nice living stopping the other guy.

If Pitt loses, its reign as ACC Coastal champion will end after one season. If Pitt wins, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (look it up; it’s the actual name) would need considerable help to win the Coastal.

Here are five thoughts as the 3:30 p.m. kickoff approaches on ESPN2:

1. Gobble, gobble

One of the cherished traditions at Virginia Tech games is the incessant turkey gobble played through the loudspeakers. The legend (albeit disputed) of the “gobble-gobble” is traced back more than 100 years when Virginia Tech was a military school, and future officers were not permitted to look at their plates while eating. That meant they ungraciously were gobbling their food. Athletes, with limited meal time, were permitted to gobble.

Myth? Probably.

But the gobble-gobble lives on to the point students who wear the Hokiebird costume at games are permitted to wear the big, orange turkey feet at graduation when their identity finally is revealed.

If you’re a Pitt fan in the stadium, try not to let it annoy you.

Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge has heard it before. No big deal. He is embracing what’s at stake, but he said, “You just try to block all the white noise out and do your job.”

Partridge also is a good sport. “I’m excited to hear ‘Sandman,’ ” he said.

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2. Speaking of gobbling …

Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman has unapologetically gobbled up offensive lines all season to the point he leads the nation’s defensive tackles with 9½ sacks. He could become the first Pitt interior lineman to lead the team in sacks since Aaron Donald in 2013.

Partridge had some interesting remarks about the redshirt sophomore from Washington, D.C., who would be eligible for the 2020 NFL Draft if he chooses to make himself available.

“I don’t think there is any doubt he can play at (the NFL) level,” Partridge said. “We all know it’s his third year. Those decisions we’ll worry about after the season and guide him, as necessary.

“I’ve been fortunate enough, been around a lot of guys who played in the NFL. He’s every bit as good as those guys I’ve coached, and I think he has a chance to play for a long time.”

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3. Quarterback getting hot?

Quarterback Kenny Pickett had thrown six interceptions and averaged only 212.5 yards through the air in the four games before North Carolina.

Against the Tar Heels, he was outstanding, throwing for 359 — only Penn State allowed him more aerial yards — with a touchdown and no interceptions. He has been sacked only twice in the past two games.

If the offense can continue its progression and the defense remains stingy, Pitt has a chance.

Pickett said there’s still plenty of work to do.

“With the injuries we’ve had, the setbacks we’ve had and trying to get new guys in, I don’t know if we’re close yet,” he said. “We’re always working to try to get there.”

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4. Memorable send-off?

Longtime Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster is retiring at the end of the season — he’s only 60 — and Saturday will mark his final home game.

The school honored Foster at the Wake Forest game Nov. 9 at Lane Stadium, gifting him a lunchpail — the legendary symbol of how hard his men played for him during his 33 years on the sideline. His defense also gave him three sacks and two turnovers in a 36-17 victory against a seven-win Wake Forest team.

But Saturday is the last home game for Foster, and that type of emotion can be difficult to overcome.

Even those players who didn’t play for the Hokies respect Foster. Pitt linebacker Chase Pine, a Williamsburg, Va., native, wasn’t heavily recruited by Virginia Tech under former coach Frank Beamer, but he sent Foster a congratulatory text, anyway.

“I told him he was a great guy, a great coach,” Pine said.

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5. What’s at stake …

When Pitt needed three victories and a Virginia loss to win the ACC Coastal, you could have bet $100 on it happening to win $957.

It’s a bit closer to reality now that Pitt beat North Carolina and needs to win just two. A local bookmaker said it’s $100 to win $605.

Playing important games in November is “why you lift all those weights,” as Bill Parcells once famously said.

Coach Pat Narduzzi said he liked the focus at practice this week, but he says that almost every week.

“A great week of practice does not mean victory,” he said.

But he added, “They know what’s at stake. They want to leave their mark, their legacy.”

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