Pitt on Sunday accepted an invitation to play in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md., a postseason destination that apparently has two desirable ingredients for the Panthers and their fans:
• A venue that is within reasonable driving distance from Pittsburgh — a little more than four hours by car — offering Pitt an opportunity to sell more tickets.
• An opponent (Navy) that is 9-2, 21st in the College Football Playoff rankings and has Heisman Trophy candidate Keenan Reynolds at quarterback. A Pitt victory in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium — the Midshipmen's home field — would be its ninth and most impressive this season.
Yet the Military Bowl is designated a Tier Two game by the ACC, behind four Tier One games that turned to other teams instead of the Panthers, even though Pitt (8-4) has the fourth-best overall record in the conference.
Those bowls include the Pinstripe in New York City; the Belk in Charlotte, N.C.; the Music City in Nashville, Tenn.; and the Sun in El Paso, Texas.
ACC schools Duke, N.C. State and Louisville, each with seven victories, were chosen for the Pinstripe, Belk and Music City, respectively.
Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes said there is a “fine line” between the ACC's Tier One and Tier Two bowls, adding that his negotiations came down to the Pinstripe, Sun and Military. Pitt quickly was eliminated from Sun consideration after it lost to Miami (8-4), he said.
“We always want to do better,” Barnes said. “You want nine wins if you have eight. You want a lot of things. We like the fit (of the Military). We like the opportunity to travel. We like playing against a Top 25 team.”
Barnes said he spent a lot of time speaking with Pinstripe officials, going back as far as late summer.
“We put a really strong travel and marketing plan together that they were enthusiastic about, as was the Military Bowl,” he said. “Why they chose Duke, you are going to need to ask them. They were in our sights and we were in their sights.”
An email to Pinstripe officials was not returned Sunday night.
Bowl officials are concerned about selling tickets, and Pitt, which has played four of its past five bowl games in Alabama and Texas, hasn't always been accompanied by swarms of fans.
Barnes acknowledged “the stigmas that have been placed on Pitt — and unfairly in some regards.” But he knows it's not easy to change perceptions.
“You can't turn an aircraft carrier on a dime,” he said. “Changing culture takes time.”
He also added that the Military affords an opponent and proximity that other bowls couldn't match. For example, Duke will play a 6-6 Indiana team in the Pinstripe.
If Pitt's players were disappointed, they “will grow into being happy,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “I think they wanted to play in the Orange Bowl (playoff site). If we had gone undefeated, maybe that would be the case. It's a rocky road when you talk about bowls and all the politics involved. I'm just glad they didn't leave us out.”
The game will be the 40th renewal of the series between Pitt and Navy that dates to 1912. The teams played every year from 1961-79, but they have met only four times in the past 25 years. Pitt leads the series 22-14-3.
Navy defeated visiting Pitt, 24-21, on Oct. 26, 2013, on a field goal by Nick Sloan as time expired. Reynolds ran for 93 yards and a touchdown in that game.
The Midshipmen have lost this season only to Notre Dame and Houston, who are eighth and 18th in the College Football Playoff rankings, respectively.
Note: Pitt has an allotment of 7,333 tickets that can be purchased at pittsburghpanthers.com/bowltickets. Students get one free ticket and can purchase additional tickets for $55 each. Bus trips are $25 for students (including a free ticket) and $80 for others, with buses leaving the morning of Dec. 28 from Pittsburgh, Erie, Johnstown, Philadelphia and Washington.
MILITARY BOWL
Pitt vs. Navy
2:30 p.m. Dec. 28
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.
TV: ESPN
Records: Pitt 8-4, Navy 9-2 (vs. Army on Saturday)
Notable wins: Pitt beat Duke, 31-13, and Louisville, 45-34;
Navy beat Memphis, 45-20
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
• A venue that is within reasonable driving distance from Pittsburgh — a little more than four hours by car — offering Pitt an opportunity to sell more tickets.
• An opponent (Navy) that is 9-2, 21st in the College Football Playoff rankings and has Heisman Trophy candidate Keenan Reynolds at quarterback. A Pitt victory in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium — the Midshipmen's home field — would be its ninth and most impressive this season.
Yet the Military Bowl is designated a Tier Two game by the ACC, behind four Tier One games that turned to other teams instead of the Panthers, even though Pitt (8-4) has the fourth-best overall record in the conference.
Those bowls include the Pinstripe in New York City; the Belk in Charlotte, N.C.; the Music City in Nashville, Tenn.; and the Sun in El Paso, Texas.
ACC schools Duke, N.C. State and Louisville, each with seven victories, were chosen for the Pinstripe, Belk and Music City, respectively.
Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes said there is a “fine line” between the ACC's Tier One and Tier Two bowls, adding that his negotiations came down to the Pinstripe, Sun and Military. Pitt quickly was eliminated from Sun consideration after it lost to Miami (8-4), he said.
“We always want to do better,” Barnes said. “You want nine wins if you have eight. You want a lot of things. We like the fit (of the Military). We like the opportunity to travel. We like playing against a Top 25 team.”
Barnes said he spent a lot of time speaking with Pinstripe officials, going back as far as late summer.
“We put a really strong travel and marketing plan together that they were enthusiastic about, as was the Military Bowl,” he said. “Why they chose Duke, you are going to need to ask them. They were in our sights and we were in their sights.”
An email to Pinstripe officials was not returned Sunday night.
Bowl officials are concerned about selling tickets, and Pitt, which has played four of its past five bowl games in Alabama and Texas, hasn't always been accompanied by swarms of fans.
Barnes acknowledged “the stigmas that have been placed on Pitt — and unfairly in some regards.” But he knows it's not easy to change perceptions.
“You can't turn an aircraft carrier on a dime,” he said. “Changing culture takes time.”
He also added that the Military affords an opponent and proximity that other bowls couldn't match. For example, Duke will play a 6-6 Indiana team in the Pinstripe.
If Pitt's players were disappointed, they “will grow into being happy,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “I think they wanted to play in the Orange Bowl (playoff site). If we had gone undefeated, maybe that would be the case. It's a rocky road when you talk about bowls and all the politics involved. I'm just glad they didn't leave us out.”
The game will be the 40th renewal of the series between Pitt and Navy that dates to 1912. The teams played every year from 1961-79, but they have met only four times in the past 25 years. Pitt leads the series 22-14-3.
Navy defeated visiting Pitt, 24-21, on Oct. 26, 2013, on a field goal by Nick Sloan as time expired. Reynolds ran for 93 yards and a touchdown in that game.
The Midshipmen have lost this season only to Notre Dame and Houston, who are eighth and 18th in the College Football Playoff rankings, respectively.
Note: Pitt has an allotment of 7,333 tickets that can be purchased at pittsburghpanthers.com/bowltickets. Students get one free ticket and can purchase additional tickets for $55 each. Bus trips are $25 for students (including a free ticket) and $80 for others, with buses leaving the morning of Dec. 28 from Pittsburgh, Erie, Johnstown, Philadelphia and Washington.
MILITARY BOWL
Pitt vs. Navy
2:30 p.m. Dec. 28
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.
TV: ESPN
Records: Pitt 8-4, Navy 9-2 (vs. Army on Saturday)
Notable wins: Pitt beat Duke, 31-13, and Louisville, 45-34;
Navy beat Memphis, 45-20
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
