No. 17 Clemson hopes to keep ACC title hopes alive when Tigers visit sliding Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Clemson lost its dominance a couple of weeks ago when the 17th-ranked Tigers were upset by Louisville, dropping them out of first place in the supersized ACC.

Just don't confuse that lack of control with a lack of care about where their season goes from here. Clemson (7-2 overall, 6-1 ACC) knows its only path to reaching the ACC title relies on beating suddenly reeling Pittsburgh (7-2, 3-2) on Saturday and receiving a little help along the way from the teams that conference frontrunners SMU and Miami play in the coming weeks.

If the Tigers walk out of Acrisure Stadium with a loss to the Panthers — as they did in their last visit in 2021 — and any hope vanishes of reaching the College Football Playoff.

“We put ourselves in position," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “We weren’t in position this time last year. So we’re still in the thick of it, there’s a lot of things that can happen.”

But only if the Tigers avoid a misstep against Pitt, which has dropped two straight following a 7-0 start. The latest was a 24-19 setback at home against Virginia last week that had all the hallmarks of a team in regression.

Quarterbacks Eli Holstein and Nate Yarnell combined to complete just 10 of 32 passes and the defense allowed the Cavaliers to control the ball for more than 35 minutes, including a clock-killing drive late in the fourth quarter.

There's no need to remind linebacker Brandon George, who is well aware of the stakes as the sixth-year senior prepares for his last appearance in front of the Panther Pit.

“Every game is an opportunity to show who you are, show that you belong where you are and show that you’re not, you weren’t a pretender, right?” George said.

Pitt's chance to reach the ACC championship likely ended when Yarnell threw a last-gasp interception in the final moments against the Cavaliers. The program still has a chance to turn a season that has already exceeded external expectations into something special.

The Panthers need to avoid the kind of self-inflicted mistakes — from dropped passes to penalties — that doomed them against the Cavaliers. Having Clemson on the schedule makes it a little easier to regain whatever focus they might have lacked.

'No doubt about it," Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “If last week didn’t get their motor going, I hope anyone who has ambitions about playing in the National Football League, let’s see what you’ve got against Clemson. Let’s see you play your best game here.”

HAMPTON’S PICK

Clemson cornerback Ashton Hampton initially wasn’t that impressed with his one-handed interception along the sideline in a win at Virginia Tech last week, despite the reaction of many.

Hampton, a 6-foot-2 freshman, was just scrolling through social media after the 24-14 victory when he read a post saying he was No. 3 on ESPN’s Top 10 of the day’s best plays.

“Oh, that’s kind of cool right now,” he said. “That definitely made me happy.”

QUARTERBACK QUANDARY

Holstein exited the game against Virginia in the second half with an apparent head injury after he took a shot while sliding at the end of a scramble. It marked the second time in three weeks Holstein left after taking a high hit.

Narduzzi — who is loathe to talk about injuries — has been vague about whether Holstein will be available.

Whoever is behind center will need to take a step forward after weeks of backsliding. Holstein has cooled since a fast start while Yarnell tossed a pair of second-half interceptions in relief against Virginia.

ABOUT TIME

Tigers defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin was happy his unit finally showed its strength against the Hokies after a demoralizing performance in the loss to Louisville.

The Tigers, known for their ability to stop the run, allowed the Cardinals to gain 210 yards for its second-highest total this season. Clemson bounced back by holding to Hokies to just 40 yards on the ground.

“Sometimes, you show up and have a bad day at the office,” Goodwin said of the Louisville game.

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AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli in Clemson, South Carolina, contributed to this report.