Veteran announcer Wes Durham lumps Pitt among cluster of ACC contenders

Wes Durham counts the first seven years of his life as the only time he wasn’t surrounded by ACC football, basketball or baseball.

His father, legendary play-by-play announcer Woody Durham, called North Carolina games on radio for 40 years (1971-2011) after replacing Bill Currie, who left for a job at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh.

Wes Durham, who knew at the age of 14 that he wanted to follow his father’s career path, has been around the ACC long enough to remember when retiring commissioner John Swofford, 71, played quarterback at North Carolina.

Durham, who co-hosts “Packer and Durham” on the ACC Network with Mark Packer, will do the play-by-play Saturday for Louisville/Pitt, the first game at Heinz Field in 11 years between ranked teams.

“I’m excited to see which team takes advantage of this stage,” Durham said.

Then, he’ll fly home to Atlanta for his other job, play-by-play man for the Falcons.

So, who better than Durham — the Bill Hillgrove of southern football — to handicap the field in the difficult quest to wrestle the 2020 ACC title from five-time defending champion Clemson?

Durham said it’s too early to pick one from a cluster of six ranked teams — Notre Dame, North Carolina, Miami, Virginia Tech, Pitt and Louisville — as No. 1 Clemson’s chief ACC competition.

Durham said it’s too easy to label Pitt’s game with Louisville as a battle between the Panthers’ stingy defense and the Cardinals’ speed on offense.

“While you spend a lot of time looking at that particular angle, for me, I’m always mindful of the bigger picture,” he said. “I do believe these are two of the teams that could stay in the conversation through the course of the year as to potential challengers to Clemson.”

Durham likes Pitt’s experience.

“I do think that counts a lot right now, especially in the (covid) landscape we’re playing in,” he said. “I also think they have one of the most underrated quarterbacks (Kenny Pickett) in the country. He’s off to a great start. It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been pretty good. I think he is a great manager of the game.

“You can see in the (Syracuse) game where he and coach (Mark) Whipple (offensive coordinator) have really evolved with the offense.”

Durham said he has several buddies who call Big Ten games and who have observed Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi since he was Michigan State’s defensive coordinator.

“They tell me, ‘Hey, look, when Narduzzi gets a defense that starts looking like his Michigan State teams, that’s when the league’s going to know that Pittsburgh is going to be there for a while.”

Said Durham: “They have a defense that looks like one of his Michigan State teams.”

Durham’s warning is the Pitt’s reconfigured schedule isn’t easy. Four of Pitt’s final six opponents are No. 12 Miami, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 20 Virginia Tech and Clemson (29-1 against ACC foes since losing to Pitt in 2016).

That makes the game Saturday even more important for Pitt.

“The more money you can make early, the better off you’re going to be at the bank at the end,” he said.

Durham notes North Carolina’s “friendly” schedule that does not include Clemson, Pitt or Louisville. “But what happens if they get an injury in the secondary where they might be a little thin?”

He also likes Notre Dame for its “proven” quarterback (Ian Book), a strong running game and steady defense. “But they’re going to play a conference schedule (for the first time).”

Even Louisville, whose defense looked suspect in a 47-34 loss to Miami last week, could rise again.

“If they can get a little bit better defensively,” he said. “They got the offensive side figured out.”

Meanwhile, given the lingering coronavirus, so much can happen — good and bad — before the ACC championship game in December. Virginia Tech hasn’t even played a game yet while dealing with covid-19 complications. Notre Dame postponed its game with Wake Forest that was to be played Saturday.

Said Durham: “God, bless us. I hope we can finish.”

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