Clemson Tigers May Face Backup as Pittsburgh Quarterback Status Looks in Doubt

The Clemson Tigers could be facing a Pittsburgh team without their starting quarterback.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers are facing what has suddenly become their biggest game of the season thus far this weekend when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers.

Pitt is coming off a loss to Virginia this past weekend in what was their second conference loss and pushed the team to the brink in terms of the race for a spot in the ACC title game. Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein was knocked out of the game in the third quarter with a head injury and his status for this weekend appears to be somewhat in doubt.

Head coach Pat Narduzzi spoke to the media on Monday and provided an update on his quarterback, saying essentially he's not sure if he will play or not.

"Our doctors make all those decisions. I wish I could tell you," Narduzzi said via Pittsburgh Sports Now. "I don’t even go down to the training room to see. I stay out of the training room. That’s not my job. My job is to coach football and let some of the best medical trainers in the country take care of...if you could sneak down to the training room, you might find out."

While Narduzzi after the loss on Saturday said Holstein appeared to be okay in the locker room after the game, head injuries are not anything to mess around with and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Holstein not on the field when the Tigers come to town.

A transfer from Alabama, Holstein has had a nice season so far for Pitt, throwing nearly 2,200 yards along with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for over 300 yards on the ground and another three scores.

In order to make the conference championship, the Tigers will still need either SMU or Miami to lose one of their final games. The Mustangs have three games remaining against Boston College, Virginia, and California, while the Hurricanes will have a bye this week before hosting Wake Forest and traveling to Syracuse.

It's worth keeping an eye on the status of Holstein throughout the week as Clemson continues to prepare for what is an absolute must win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.