WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Notes, Quotes

The Sports Xchange

November 27, 2018 at 9:30 pm.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

–WR Rafael Araujo-Lopes, a senior, was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise quiet night for the Pittsburgh offense against Miami. Araujo-Lopes tallied his second straight game with six catches, registering 67 yards. The six grabs tied a season-high, which he has achieved four times this season. Araujo-Lopes has 34 receptions for 357 yards and four scores on the year.

–RB Darrin Hall, a senior, had massive games against Virginia and Virginia Tech, but has since been held under 50 yards in back-to-back games against Wake Forest and Miami. Against the Hurricanes, he had just 47 yards on 14 carries. “Miami didn’t put as many guys in the box, but they did some twists and stuff that we hadn’t really seen a whole lot of,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “They did some different things to maybe confuse our guys up front. You add the confusion with some really talented football players up front for Miami, it was a recipe for a disastrous game there.”

With Qadree Ollison already over the 1,000-yard mark, the Panthers are hoping to propel Hall over the mark, which would mark the first time in school history that Pittsburgh had two 1,000-yard rushers in one season. Hall earned third-team All-ACC honors for his efforts this season.

–RB V’Lique Carter, a freshman who entered the program as a defensive back, made a sparkling debut in the backfield against Duke on Oct. 27. Carter racked up 137 rushing yards against the Blue Devils a month ago, giving Pittsburgh a new dimension to its offense. Carter has been mostly quiet since that outing, but the Panthers chose to burn his redshirt by having him appear against Miami, where he rushed for 1 yard on one carry. If Pittsburgh wants to upset Clemson, the offense will need to put all its cards on the table. That likely includes the wild card of Carter.

SERIES HISTORY: Pittsburgh leads Clemson 2-0. The Panthers pulled off an upset in 2016, the lone loss of the season for the eventual national champion.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “I hope when guys look in my eyes, they see somebody that’s ready to go for them, got their back, for all four quarters. See somebody that’s going to fight for them, that’s going to really just leave it all out there for them. I hope that’s what they see when they see me, when they look into my eyes. Somebody that’s going to fight all four quarters, however many quarters it takes, until the clock is all zeroes.” — RB Qadree Ollison