Pitt bowl game matters, especially to those coming back for more

There can be reasonable debate about the importance of bowl games that don’t involve ranked teams.

So let’s review the arguments:

• If Pitt defeats Eastern Michiganon Thursday night in the Quick Lane Bowl, will anyone remember? Coach Pat Narduzzi surely will. It would be his first bowl victory in four tries as Pitt’s coach.

• In the moment, would Pitt fans celebrate a victory against a 6-6 Mid-American Conference team, even one that gives the Panthers their third 8-5 record in five years?

• Will Pitt’s players be properly motivated to play a last-place MAC team after seeing their ACC Coastal hopes smashed by losses in their last two regular-seasons games? Combined score: 54-19.

The answers are to be determined, but here are three potential events that would make the game’s outcome matter:

1. The resurgence of quarterback Kenny Pickett

Pitt’s junior quarterback has this game and his senior season in 2020 to make amends for two consecutive late-season slumps.

In the last three games of 2018, he completed only 43.2% of his pass attempts (29 of 67) for 274 yards and an interception.

This season, he hasn’t thrown a touchdown after halftime since Oct. 5 (six games).

Pitt’s record in those nine games beyond midseason is 3-6, a time when the team and its players are supposed to improve.

A big game by Pickett and a victory will quell fans’ calls from for a change at quarterback (not that Narduzzi listens to such things).

2. Young players stepping forward

When Pitt beat Bowling Green in the 2013 Little Caesers Pizza Bowl, freshmen James Conner and Tyler Boyd combined for 471 yards and two touchdowns. It was the gateway to big seasons for both players in 2014.

This year, returning players such running back A.J. Davis and wide receivers Shocky Jacques-Louis and Jared Wayne offer hope for next season. Keep an eye on those three players.

3. New-look defense

Narduzzi will need to replace several of his best defensive players, including seniors Damar Hamlin, Dane Jackson, Amir Watts and Kylan Johnson. And that’s not even mentioning the possibility of Paris Ford, Jaylen Twyman and Patrick Jones leaving early for the 2020 NFL Draft.

This will be a big game — and a bigger offseason for returning linebackers Chase Pine, Wendell Davis, Phil Cambell III and Cam Bright, defensive ends John Morgan and Habakkuk Baldonado, safety Erick Hallett and cornerback Marquis Williams.

During bowl prep, Narduzzi likes to emphasize young players whose reps were limited during the season. The best players still play, but there will be exposure in the game for those the coach will rely upon next year.

The game might not matter to many outside the team or ESPN, but there are players whose careers could be shaped by a productive game Thursday at Detroit’s Ford Field.