By Morris Phillips

Pat Narduzzi’s Pitt Panthers haven’t really beaten anyone of substance. Rhett Lashlee’s SMU Mustangs have impressive results, but admittedly, they can’t say they’ve played clean football.

Who are these two ACC teams currently at the top of the heap of the expanded conference with their biggest challenges still ahead of them?

Honestly, they don’t know themselves. But the process of gaining their unique identities starts on Saturday night in Dallas when they meet with a share of first-place in November on the line.

“Pretty much what we saw: we played pretty good football minus six turnovers and a goal line stand, which makes it really bad football,” Lashlee admitted in recounting the Mustangs’ thrilling escape act at Duke, a 28-27 win in overtime in their previous game.

SMU built a 21-7 third quarter lead only to see the host Blue Devils tie it and force overtime with touchdowns on their last third quarter possession and the first fourth quarter possession. Throughout SMU and quarterback Kevin Jennings suffered self-inflicted wounds with three interceptions and three fumbles while not forcing any Duke turnovers. The 6-0 disparity in miscues was unusual, even more so when SMU held on in overtime. It marked the first time since Marshall’s 2011 win over Memphis that a team had overcome that severe of a turnover deficit.

“We’ve never had a game like that, I’ve never had a game like that. It’s kind of like a twilight zone scenario.”

Narduzzi’s Panthers weren’t considered to be an ACC title contender by the media, not even close. Picked 13th (while 1-7 Florida State was picked 1st), they’ve beaten North Carolina, Syracuse, and Cal, none of whom created much buzz in the poll either. The veteran coach, who’s known for his gruff manner and pushing his players’ buttons, likely spiced up pre-season practices with references to his team’s lacking reputation. Narrow, non-conference wins over Cincinnati and West Virginia didn’t get people talking either. Destroying Syracuse 41-13 last Thursday did, but the highlights were littered with the Orange making damaging mistakes.

Now Pitt’s 7-0 for the first time since 1982, and SMU is much more talented than anyone they’ve played to date. A big road win would bring validation, but it may take some tweaking of Pitt’s mentality. Narduzzi admitted as much.

“I want our guys to play angry. I want them to play with an attitude and a chip on  their shoulder all the time,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll find different ways to piss them off, get them angry, and feel disrespected.”

Neither team can write their ticket to the ACC Championship game with a win Saturday as Clemson and Miami are also undefeated in conference play. For SMU, whose only loss is to BYU, the path would get clearer as they finish against Boston College, Virginia and Cal, all of whom they will be favored against. Pitt’s backloaded schedule still has them hosting Virginia and Clemson, with visits to Louisville and Boston College.

One thing’s certain: the SMU-Pitt loser faces the uphill climb everyone expected them to face before the season started.

“Our motto for the year is ‘prove it,'” Narduzzi said. “Just find a way to get it done, and improve who you are week in and week out. Because nobody cares what happened in the first seven games of the season.”

Eli Holstein, Pitt’s prolific passer who transferred from Alabama, has thrown for 1,805 yards and 17 touchdowns. He didn’t finish the Syracuse game after suffering an undisclosed injury, but he’s been cleared medically and is expected to start against SMU. Kevin Jennings, the Mustangs’ signal caller was questionable as well, but he’s expected to start and contend with a Pitt defense that’s been excellent, and opportunistic.

SMU might have the best playmaker in running back Brashard Smith, who hits the hole with force while being a factor in the pass game. Smith has 10 touchdowns, and has steadily been trusted to handle the football more and more. Last week against Duke he had a season-high 26 carries for 117 yards and three receptions for another 22 yards.

HOKIES SEEK FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN AT SYRACUSE:

Bhayshul Tuten is performing like the barometer for Virginia Tech as one of the ACC’s best backs who has been even better in the Hokies’ current, three-game win streak. Tuten rushed for 80 yards on 17 carries last week as the Hokies drubbed Georgia Tech at home, 21-6.

Prior to that Tuten hit his career-best with 266 yards rushing in a win over Boston College. It was the fifth time the senior has eclipsed 100 yards on the ground, including all four of his home games.

Suddenly, Virginia Tech is 5-3 and 3-1 in the ACC, giving them hope that a miraculous finish to the season could propel them into the ACC Championship game. But first, they must deal with a difficult environment at Syracuse’s JMA Dome and their quarterback Kyle McCord, who’s been better more often than not, although he did struggle in the Orange’s 41-13 loss at Pitt.

Meanwhile, Tuten suffered an injury against Tech last week, and he’s looking for clearance to play on Saturday. Coach Brent Pry was non-committal but was hopeful that he’ll have his offensive leader on Saturday.

“He’s tough. If he has an opportunity to play he will,” Pry said of Tuten.