Panther-lair.com site publisher Chris Peak lifts the curtain a bit to give Stanford fans a better understanding of the Cardinal's Sun Bowl opponent.

What's the confidence level of this team after making a run through a difficult schedule to reach the conference championship game?

"That's a great question, and it's probably a mixed bag. On one hand, the team put together a 6-2 ACC record to win its first outright division title and make its first appearance in a conference championship game; in that respect, the season has been a definite success. On the other hand, Pitt also started the season 2-3, suffered blowout losses to Penn State and UCF, lost to North Carolina again - Pitt has never beaten UNC since joining the conference - and closed with a pair of duds against Miami and Clemson. The fan base is definitely conflicted on how to feel about this season, and while the players proudly wear their Coastal Division championship gear, they have to be at least a little shaken from the last two games, particularly the loss to Clemson in the ACC title game when the offense produced a grand total of eight - that's eight - passing yards. So they probably feel good about the overall accomplishments but maybe a little uncertain with some of the individual results, so this game is important to serve as a strong finish.

What makes Pitt's run game so successful and how does Pitt use 1,000-yard rushers Ollison and Hall differently?

"There are a few elements that go into Pitt's run game. The most important is that the offensive line is full of big road graders who aren't all that effective in pass protection but can definitely move defenders out of the way to open holes in the rushing attack. The other element is commitment: head coach Pat Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson want to run the ball as much as possible, so they are content to hand it off as many times as they can. and they have a pair of big backs in Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall who can carry it a lot of times. There isn't a huge distinction between those two backs; they're both big, although Ollison might be a little bigger, and they're both surprisingly quick for their size, although Hall is a little faster. But both Ollison and Hall like to find a hole, make one cut and then start running downhill."

What are the factors that have limited Pitt's passing game?

"Some of it has been a reliance on the rushing attack that produced the first pair of 1,000-yard rushers in a single season in Pitt history, but there are also considerable issues that have held the passing game back, and it's really in the three most important factors: protection, decision-making and receiving. While Pitt's offensive line has excelled in run-blocking, the group has struggled to hold off strong pass-rushes, both off the edge and up the middle (and a lot of times without the help of a blitz). The extra pressure has gotten to quarterback Kenny Pickett, and in his first season as the starter, he hasn't always dealt with it well. Sometimes he would take a sack due to holding onto the ball too long; at other points, he would rush a throw or scramble too soon because he felt pressure that wasn't quite there. Pickett's pocket presence reflected his inexperience and made it difficult to build any consistency in the passing game. And Pitt's receivers haven't always done a great job gaining separation. So there have been quite a few complicating factors."

What is the strength of the defense and how have opponents best attacked it this season?

"In Pat Narduzzi's world, a defense lives to stop the run, first and foremost. And while a few opponents have put up numbers in the run game this season - Clemson's Travis Etienne is really, really good - Pitt has been, for the most part, pretty effective at stopping the run. The passing game has been a different story. Narduzzi's pass defense operates on some basic principles, primarily with the corners playing one-on-one outside, linebackers trying to disrupt timing on slot receivers and the pass rush forcing a quarterback to be uncomfortable. It's all predicated on the run, though, so teams that have used RPO's, in particular, have been able to manipulate Pitt's run-first tendencies and get big performances out of the passing game. A lot of it comes down to one-on-one matchups, though, and Pitt has a pair of talented cornerbacks who have improved the overall pass defense this season."

How is this team better now than at the start of the season?

"Well, in Week Two Pitt lost to Penn State 51-6; in the ACC Championship Game, the Panthers lost to Clemson 42-10, so on the results of those two games, there wasn't a ton of improvement. In between, Pitt was able to beat the teams who were right around the same level - Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest - to get the Coastal Division title. So the Panthers weren't in the upper echelon since they lost to teams at that level, but they were able to at least separate themselves from teams they faced in the middle tier of college football."