Week 2 presents intrigue for both Central Michigan and Pittsburgh, as both programs enter the game 1-0 and look to keep the good times rolling.
The way both programs got to their 1-0 marks were extremely different. Pittsburgh won comfortably at home by a final score of 61-9 against a Duquense squad which couldn’t do much to stop them, while CMU shocked San Jose State on the road as a 13-point underdog to win 16-14 in front of a national TV audience.
Pitt, fully healthy in 2025 after injuries cratered
their ACC title hopes in 2024, look to firmly re-establish themselves as contenders by feasting on a vulnerable Chippewas squad. Style points will matter at this point in the season, especially in this era of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Central, meanwhile, looks to show last week’s competitiveness wasn’t a fluke, hoping they can continue to run the ball effectively against what is typically a well-disciplined and talented unit led by one of college football’s greatest defensive minds.
Let’s get right into the matchup:
Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday, September 6th, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time
- Location: Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- TV network options: The game will be aired nationally on ESPNU; a valid cable subscription is required for viewing. Coverage by Trent Rush (play-by-play) and Will Blackmon (color analyst).
- Radio options: Adam Jaksa (play-by-play) and Brock Gutierrez (color) will provide the Central call for 98.5 WUPS-FM; Bill Hargrove (play-by-play) and Pat Bostick (color) will provide the Pittsburgh call for 93.7 The Fan.
- Gambling considerations: Pitt favored by 21.5 points, with an over/under of 50.5, per FanDuel.
- All-Time Series: This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
About the Pitt Panthers
The mark of most every Pat Narduzzi teams on offense is an emphasis on ball control— though once in a blue moon, his teams will come across a nigh-unstoppable unit. 2024 was one of those units, especially prior to the Eli Holstein injury. The Panthers finished 32nd in the NCAA with 408.7 total offensive yards per game, with their strength being in their 24th-ranked passing offense (266.9 yards per game.) Unfortunately, Holstein’s injury, combined with a limited running game and middling defense, sunk the Panthers’ hopes last season.
The window to a potential ACC title chase is open once again now that Pitt is at full health, and last Saturday was their first step in getting there. Pitt ran around, over and through the Duquense Dukes last week in an expected victory, with 460 yards of offense and seven touchdowns— including five through the air.
In the contest, 13 different Panthers picked up at least one reception, with Blue Hicks (four catches, 55 yards, two touchdowns and Kenny Johnson (four catches, 47 yards, touchdown) featuring at the starting receiving positions. The eternal halfback Desmond Reid was once again the star for Pitt, with an 88-yard return touchdown to open up the scoring account and an additional 53-yard touchdown run to put a bow on his 147 all-purpose yards on 13 touches (eight rushes, three returns, two receptions.)
Quarterback Eli Holstein, who transferred in from Alabama last season, looked well on the way to continuing his torrid pre-injury pace from 2024, completing 15-of-23 passes for 215 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
Defense is where Pitt makes their hay, limiting the Dukes to only 204 total yards. In 2024, the Panthers were a bit average overall, with 378.2 total offensive yards allowed per game on average, but absolutely stingy in the run game, ranking 19th in the NCAA with 112.8 rushing yards per game on average.
2025 looks to be a similar story; the Panthers allowed a 100-yard receiver in their game last week, as Joey Isabella snuck by with eight receptions for 120 yards, while giving up just 37 yards rushing. Of course, one game of data doesn’t tell a whole story, but it’s something to monitor.
The front seven Pitt has will be one of the toughest CMU will see all season.
Linebacker Kyle Louis, who had seven sacks and four interceptions en route to being named an All-American last season, was far-and-away the Panthers’ highlight player in the Duquense game, with six tackles, three tackles-for-loss, and two sacks. Third-team all-ACC linebacker Rasheem Biles will run alongside Louis once again after collecting 82 tackles, 15 TFLs, 5.5 sacks and a team-leading nine pass break-ups in 2024, while defensive end Jimmy Scott (30 tackles, 13 TFLs, six sacks in ‘24) looks forward to his second year as a starter after wowing in 2024.
Javon McIntyre (51 tackles, four TFLs, three PBUs in ‘24) and Rashad Battle (36 tackles, TFL, eight PBUs in ‘24) will be the defensive backs of note.
About the Central Michigan Chippewas
The key to Central Michigan’s win last Friday was Establishing the Run.
CMU ran the ball 51 times against San Jose State, picking up 13 first downs, 236 yards and their lone touchdown on the ground, accumulating 33:45 minutes of total game clock— including over 17 minutes of the first half.
Both Nahree Biggins (102 yards) and Tulane transfer Trey Cornist (99 yards, one touchdown) carried a heavy load, while the staff rotated quarterbacks to get different looks in the rushing game.
“It’s the number one most important thing to win games that there is, possession of the football,” head coach Matt Drinkall said during press availability this week. “That’s what we talk about all the time. We started so well; we need to continue to keep the consistency going throughout. That will be the next big challenge for us.”
Running the ball will likely be a lot harder this week, especially with starting guard John Iannuzzi suffering a torn ACL/MCL last week. CMU will be forced to rely on redshirt freshman Dasan Smith, which could affect their ability to be consistent on the ground against a stout ACC foe.
That means potentially testing out a new-look passing offense. Against San Jose State, CMU passed just 13 times, with primary passer Joe Labas finishing 5-of-10 for 56 yards. Angel Flores did complete all three of his passes, but his big play to Tommy McIntosh created 47 of his 59 yards. Slot man Langston Lewis and outside starter Tyson Davis are still working their ways back from season-ending injuries in 2024, combining for two receptions for 20 yards. Until the receiving corps starts to figure it out, expect a lot of passing to tight ends Decorion Temple and Henry Dryden (who had a touchdown taken back by penalty last week.)
Defensively, the Chippewas have a stout, experienced secondary which should be able to match up with Pitt’s skill positions. Jaion Jackson has been a starter at outside corner since his true freshman campaign thanks to his sticky coverage skills, while Brenden Deasfernandes is excellent in run defense and notched an INT last week. Cincinnati transfer Kalen Carroll has primarily seen action in the slot, with seven tackles vs. SJSU in his CMU debut. Caleb Spann and Elijah Rikard combine for 36 starts at the safety spots, and will play multiple parts of the field.
The defensive line was a concern for CMU last week, with only one sack on the night, but there were a number of contributors who showed well. Michael Heldman had six tackles, a TFL, a sack and a forced fumble from the defensive end position, while Korver Demma brought in a clutch TFL to force SJSU to settle offensively late in the game. DJ Bennett had two pass break-ups from the line last week.
Jordan Kwiatkowski will be the MIKE backer, and he’s a good one, named second-team all-MAC in 2024 after a 96-tackle campaign which also saw him collect 14.5 TFLs.
Final Thoughts
Unlike last week’s contest, it’s a near certainty that Central falls in this one.
SJSU had a lot of new bits and pieces on both sides of the ball trying to integrate, and CMU took advantage of that— thanks in part to being hard to scout against due to the fact Matt Drinkall is a new coaching hire.
Pat Narduzzi is well aware of how punchy MAC teams can be in these sorts of matchups; he was the defensive coordinator for Michigan State when they lost to the Chippewas in 2009. This Pitt team is laden with veteran pieces and extremely motivated to get back into the national conversation after getting a taste for it in 2024. They won’t leave a stone unturned in prep.
This isn’t to say CMU is totally helpless; their dedication to unorthodox, near-guerilla tactics could serve them well moving forward as a way to get teams off-kilter.
However, every new regime has to experience growing pains at some point, and this matchup is ripe for it.
