The Florida State-Pittsburgh game looked like it would be a very important one in early November when the scheduled dropped. But FSU is soaring and a College Football Playoff team, while Pitt is struggling and unlikely to make a bowl game.

FSU makes its first trip to Pittsburgh since the 2013 season opener. And we've decided to ask Jim Hammett of Panther-Lair to answer five questions about Pitt, coach Pat Narduzzi's comments, a quarterback change and what went wrong in 2023:

How much has Narduzzi's comments after the lopsided loss to Notre Dame lingered with Pittsburgh going into practice week?

It was an interesting evening in South Bend last weekend, to say the least. I asked Narduzzi the question that led to him putting his foot in his mouth and really at the time I had no idea the commotion it would cause. I think partly because what he said is true. Pitt didn’t do a good enough job of replacing some key players and there is a reason why they are 2-6, so there was some truth in there. But I don’t think he conveyed it in the correct manner.

I understand how the comment was relayed initially and how the players saw it and it definitely caused a storm over social media for a few hours. I think since Saturday night Narduzzi and his staff were able to make things right for the most part, or at the very least got the team to flip the page and focus on this weekend. Could it cause some effects in the transfer portal in the offseason or perhaps on the recruiting trail? Maybe, but I don’t think it turned out being as bad as it initially came across.

The quarterback change paid off with some dividends with the Louisville win and the game at Wake was close. Has the move helped some or are there just bigger issues across the offense?

I do think with just “average” quarterback play, some of Pitt’s early losses to the likes of Cincinnati and West Virginia, and possibly even Virginia Tech may have turned into wins. Phil Jurkovec was playing that poorly and it was directly impacting the outcome of games.

I think Pitt probably should have turned to Christian Veilleux a game or two sooner, but I think he has shown some promising elements to his game over his first three starts. He had a rather forgettable performance against Notre Dame, but he played fairly well against Louisville and had some moments against Wake Forest. Jurkovec is a sixth-year senior, while Veilleux is a redshirt sophomore. I think the coaches are willing to accept some struggles because there is a future and some upside with Veilleux. He has not totally flipped the offense but has made them a much more serious threat vertically than they were in September.

We know Pitt for having tough, physical defenses under Pat Narduzzi. This year's defense is 94th in scoring. Are there specific issues or is it across the defense?

While Pitt’s defense has allowed a lot of points, the yardage numbers are not quite as bad. The Pitt defense certainly has felt the offense’s struggles this year. Pitt has had some games where they would only record 10-12 first downs — so the offense wasn’t staying on the field, putting the defense in harm’s way quite a bit.

Pitt’s defense is solid and competitive. But going back to Narduzzi’s comment that drew ire, they have had trouble replacing some really good players. Pitt lost Calijah Kancey, last year’s ACC Defensive Player of the Year, to the NFL as a first-round pick to Tampa. Pitt’s starting middle linebacker and both safeties also got drafted, so they lost some star power and it has been felt this year.

Pitt still has some talent. I think the cornerbacks — MJ Devonshire, Marquis Williams, and AJ Woods — are all solid, experienced players. Pitt’s linebackers have shown some promise this year. The strength of Pitt’s defense is typically the pass rush. Narduzzi’s teams are usually top five nationally in sacks. Pitt has 23 sacks this year, which is still ranked pretty high (tied for 23rd), but not the usual success it enjoys in that department.

Going back to what you expected in the preseason compared to Pitt through September and October, what position group has underwhelmed?

I expected Pitt to have a strong offensive line and running game this season and that has never really transpired. Pitt brought back three senior linemen with significant starting experience, but the group has just been absolutely decimated by injuries.

It started in training camp when projected starting guard Ryan Jacoby was lost for a season-ending injury. Pitt’s best linemen, Matt Goncalves, was lost for the year after the third game. Two of Pitt’s veteran interior linemen, Jake Kradel and Blake Zubovic, have been in and out of the lineup. Pitt has used five different starting offensive line combinations in eight games.

If there is a strength for Pitt where you could see the Panthers have a chance to pull off the upset?

It would be hard to say Pitt has any type of crack it could pry open against Florida State after watching them lose by 51 points to Notre Dame the week prior. Pitt had major failures on offense and defense, and even the special teams were responsible for two touchdowns. It was a disaster from top to bottom, and there were very few bright spots.

Pitt’s best bet going into Saturday is just having an underdog mentality and see if some weird things start to happen. The best chance the Panthers have is getting a Florida State team ready to overlook them and gets off to a slow start. Pitt has been a bad team this season, but this program did win the ACC two years ago. Some of those guys are still around and they had fairly high preseason expectations, so I think if everything clicks, they can look like a competent team.

Pitt has sprung some memorable upsets under Narduzzi’s watch, so while I don’t necessarily see Pitt having a chance against Florida State, they have been in this spot before. Pitt beat No. 2 and eventual national champion Clemson back in 2016. The Panthers then upset 10-0 Miami in 2017. I don’t think it means anything, but it’s worth noting.