It's official - the Panthers are headed to the BBVA Compass bowl game to face the Kentucky Wildcats. This is a disappointing bowl appearance for the Panthers to be sure. But at this point, there's nothing else that can be done about it. The only thing Pitt can do is play hard to defeat an SEC team and win its second straight bowl.
So go ahead and ignore the name of the bowl. Ignore the fact that it's not a great bowl. There are still a few good things about this bowl.
Pitt will face an SEC team in a warm weather city. The game is also near the end of the bowl season and will be the only contest played that day. It's a Saturday game and will allow fans to make it a weekend trip.
And if Pitt gets to 8-5, that's a much better season than 7-6. Did Pitt underachieve? Yes. But you can only complain about that for so long.