Take 5: ACC Coastal title within Pitt's grasp while Clemson won't go away

The focus inside Heinz Field on Saturday will be on the ACC Coastal championship, but perhaps we should pay a little more attention to what’s happening on the other side.

Anyone have a taste for a Pitt/Clemson rematch? It’s possible.

First of all, Pitt (8-2, 5-1) needs to win the Coastal by defeating second-place Virginia (6-4, 4-2). A loss creates a whole new level of chaos the following week.

But in the ACC Atlantic, Clemson is still alive for a seventh consecutive berth in the ACC Championship Game. The Tigers (7-3, 5-2) have won three in a row since losing to Pitt on Oct. 23.

Wake Forest (9-1, 6-0) is No. 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings, but must travel to Death Valley on Saturday to confront Clemson. The Demon Deacons haven’t defeated Clemson since 2008, and their most recent victory in Death Valley was 1998.

Even after defeating Wake Forest, Clemson needs help. Wake Forest must lose to Boston College, and either Syracuse or North Carolina must defeat N.C. State.

Just something else to ponder before the 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Heinz Field.

1. Will he or won’t he?

What stands out most about Virginia?

Is it quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s rib injury that kept him out of the 28-3 loss to Notre Dame in the Who Cares Bowl?

Or, the 66 points the Cavaliers surrendered the previous week to Brigham Young?

Pat Narduzzi has spoken with apparent authority — almost as if he has inside information — about his expectation that Armstrong will play. During his Monday news conference, he said: “I think they saved him up. He will be primed and ready for an ACC clash, so we do expect to get their best player. Who cares about the Notre Dame game? I think that was kind of the attitude they had going into it.”

Three days later on 93.7 FM, Narduzzi doubled down and said, “I have no doubt in my mind he’s playing in the game. I think you’d have to rip his rib cage out of his chest cavity for him not to play. From everything I gather, he’s a really, really tough kid. He’s a competitor, kind of like No. 8, Kenny Pickett. He’s a gun-slinger who’s going to go out there and play the game and try to be the hero.”

If Armstrong doesn’t play, it will be a shame not to see two of the nation’s most productive quarterbacks try to match each other throw for throw. Armstrong and Pickett are the all-time ACC leaders in single-season yards per game. Armstrong is averaging 395.2 this season while Pickett is at 351.7.

Armstrong’s backup is 5-foot-11 freshman Jay Woolfolk, who threw two interceptions against the Irish.

2. Senior moments

Aside from everything else, Saturday is Senior Day when Pitt honors 23 of the players who have been with the program the longest.

Pitt defensive line coach Charlie Partridge has seen many seniors go off into the real world during his 26-year coaching career, including J.J. Watt, who was one of his pupils at Wisconsin.

Partridge said Saturday will be “bittersweet” for him.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” he said.

“I tell my daughters this: ‘I’m not your friend. I’m your dad. We’ll be friends when you’re in your 20s.’ I use the same line with these guys. ‘I’m not your friend. I’m your coach. We’ll be friends once you end your eligibility here and you move on into life.’ With a lot of these guys I’ve been with for so long, the friendship has started to form, but it’s still that coach/player relationship.

“With these guys, it will be a lifelong friendship. A lot of guys I’m really, really proud of, and I know are going to have success in life and hopefully get a chance to play football for a while.

“You’re going to miss them. I love these guys. I do.”

3. Uniforms don’t matter as much as players inside them

Narduzzi has grown even closer to the seniors because he meets with the leadership council — the Eagles — weekly to keep in touch with the atmosphere in the locker room.

“This senior class has been special. It will get more special each game. It could be historic,” he said. “They’re selfless, all of them.”

For years, Narduzzi has asked the Eagles what the players need. “You hear all kinds of crazy stuff.”

Not this season’s group.

“This group has been so mature. It’s been the best leadership group I’ve had because it’s about football,” he said. “Not one time did they come in here and say, ‘Coach, we want to wear these uniforms.’

“A lot of times, they think they’re the designer for the weekend. Which is great. I want you to pick uniforms. But it isn’t about that. These guys are all about football and winning football games, and that’s what I love about them.”

4. Special return man

The math doesn’t matter to Andre Powell, Pitt’s special teams coordinator who also works with running backs. All he knows is Jordan Addison has the potential to be a dynamic punt returner.

“Honestly, we had more punt return yardage in the past two games (with Addison) than we had all season,” he said.

If you’re talking average per return, Powell gets no argument here.

Addison returned three punts for 47 yards, twice setting up touchdowns, against North Carolina. For the season, he has 77 yards on five returns; everyone else has totaled 93 on 18.

“Jordan is just a dynamic guy. He can do things you can’t coach,” Powell said.

For most of the season, Powell and Narduzzi were reluctant to risk Addison on returns because, well, he’s a 1,000-yard pass catcher.

“We didn’t want him taking hits,” Powell said. “We tried to survive without him. But the difference is obvious.”

To Addison, returning punts is fun and easy.

“I listen to the coaches and follow my blocks. That’s really all it is,” he said. “Coach Powell does a good job scheming everything up.”

Addison only returned two for a total of 15 yards last year. He didn’t realize he missed it until he got the job for the Duke game.

“Now that I’m back there, I see how much I have missed it,” he said. “It actually is fun.”

Unless you were fortunate enough to eavesdrop on Powell’s special teams meetings, you won’t know if Addison will keep the job until the first time Virginia punts Saturday.

Yes, it’s a risk, but the reward can be great. Narduzzi will want every edge he can get against Virginia.

5. Now, a word from Pitt’s horticulturist

Senior long snapper Cal Adomitis gave reporters a peek into the secret world of Pitt’s annual senior speeches when he repeated some pertinent comments from linebacker John Petrishen about how the team has grown over the years.

“How does a bamboo tree grow?” Petrishen asked teammates in his speech. “You water it for years and years before you see any growth above ground.

“By that fifth year, it shoots up 90 feet in a matter of weeks.”

“That’s something we’re all thinking about and could be an analogy for this group of (Pitt players) who are really tight.

“We knew we had the potential and the skill to win the ACC championship and we’re definitely on that path right now. We just have to keep at it.”

Pitt is hoping it gets a chance to show how much it has grown since going 7-7 in 2018 and losing 42-10 to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.