Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III, right, rushes against Penn State's Kalen King, lower left, and Ji'Ayir Brown on Nov. 27 in East Lansing. (AP photo)

ATLANTA — A milestone season for Pittsburgh and quarterback Kenny Pickett is continuing with a Peach Bowl matchup against Michigan State.

No. 13 Pitt’s reward for its first Atlantic Coast Conference championship is the Panthers’ first New Year’s Six bowl since 2004 in the Dec. 30 game in Atlanta against No. 11 Michigan State.

Pitt (11-2) moved up four spots to No. 13 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 following its 45-21 win over Wake Forest in the ACC championship game on Saturday night.

Pickett threw for two touchdowns but his highlight was a 58-yard scoring run that included a fake slide.

Though Pickett likely will be among the top quarterbacks selected in next year’s NFL draft, he already has said he will play in the bowl game instead of opting out.

That doesn’t surprise Pitt coach Patt Narduzzi, who was an assistant coach for eight seasons at MSU.

“That’s who Kenny Pickett is,” Narduzzi said. “That’s what our team is all about. It’s a team-oriented team. They’re unselfish and they play for each other. I think that’s the most impressive thing about this football team and that’s why we are where we are today.”

Pass defense has not been a strength for Michigan State coach Mel Tucker’s defense. The Spartans have allowed 337.67 yards passing per game.

“I know he’s a great player,” Tucker said of Pickett. “We’ll have to do a much better job in our pass defense.”

Pitt lost to Utah 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl following the 2004 season in its last New Year’s Six game.

Michigan State (10-2) closed its regular season by beating Penn State 30-27 on Nov. 27 as Payton Thorne threw two touchdown passes and ran for another.

The Spartans feature a strong running game. Kenneth Walker III ran for 138 yards in the win over Penn State, giving him 1,636 yards with 18 touchdowns for the season.

“He’s a great running back,” Narduzzi said. “He can run. He’s fast. … It will be a challenge.”

Tucker said no player has informed him of plans to opt out of the bowl game.

“I haven’t heard from any of the guys that they’ve decided not to play so at this point I’m assuming everyone wants to play,” Tucker said.

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SPARTANS TURNAROUND

Tucker led the Spartans to a dramatic turnaround from a 2-5 finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The eight-game jump in wins is the most dramatic improvement in school history.

Michigan State recovered from a 56-7 loss at Ohio State to finish its regular season by beating Ohio State. Michigan State finished undefeated at home for the first time since 2015.