PITTSBURGH -- Nearly two months into the season, the ACC Coastal Division is still searching for clarity.Virginia Tech and Pitt will have a chance to provide some when the 25th-ranked Hokies (5-2, 3-1) face the Panthers (5-2, 2-1) on Thursday night. The winner will exit no worse than tied for first in the loss column by the end of the weekend. The loser will need to win out -- and probably get more than a little help -- to earn a spot in the ACC title game.Its going to be a game of kind of were in the mix in this division and its going to be a championship-caliber football game, said Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster. If they want to stay in the hunt, theyve got to win it. If we want to stay in the hunt, we need to win it.Something that doesnt tend to happen when the Panthers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. The Hokies have never won at Heinz Field and dropped six of their last seven overall to Pitt, including a 17-13 loss in Blacksburg last year.Im not really sure about the historical struggles, but what were trying to do is forget all of that, Hokies defensive end Woody Barron said. Forget anything thats going on after the game, whatever thats happened before the game, and were just trying our best to prepare.Virginia Tech bounced back from a baffling pratfall at Syracuse by handling Miami last Thursday to climb back into the Top 25. Now the Hokies face a different kind of test in the Panthers, who are averaging 38 points behind one of the most inventive offenses in the country.In a pass-happy world, the offense designed by coordinator Matt Canada is a throwback. The Panthers can plow ahead with James Conner and Chawntez Moss or get out on the edges on jet sweeps by Quadree Henderson and dual threat Jordan Whitehead. Seven players have at least 20 rushing attempts, a testament Pitts depth and also the numerous ways Canada tries to get them the ball.Its not like he walked up during the summer and said, `Hey, lets run this, lets try this, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. Hes a very creative guy and its power football. Its zone football. Youve seen a lot of two backs, a lot of movement around, maybe a lot of three backs if you count that guy in motion. So its what I thought we would get when we hired Matt.CARDIAC CATS: Best to not leave early when the Panthers are playing. Five of Pitts first seven games havent been decided until the last minute, though the Panthers may have taken a significant step forward against Virginia two weeks ago, holding the Cavaliers to a field goal after halftime while pulling away for a 45-31 win.ROAD WARRIORS: The Hokies have had mixed results on the road this season, winning in impressive fashion in monsoon-like conditions at North Carolina, but then laying an egg and losing the following week at Syracuse. Their history at Heinz Field and loss to the Orange are things sure to get their attention this week, but the Panthers are coming off a bye week and are likely to have some surprises Virginia Tech didnt see on film.MR. VERSATILITY: Conner won the ACC Player of the Year Award in 2014 while scoring a school record 24 touchdowns but went back to his roots a bit against the Cavaliers. Conner -- who moonlighted at defensive end as a freshman in 2013 -- saw his first action on defense in three years against the Cavaliers and was credited with a quarterback hurry, the latest remarkable step in his return from a bout with cancer diagnosed last fall that threatened his career.PASSING FANCY: Jerod Evans leads the ACC in passing efficiency with 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions, but he also fumbled three times early in the season. The Panthers share the sack lead in the conference with 25 and could cause Evans to make a mistake if they can get enough pressure in the backfield. When Pitt has been unable to get to the quarterback, however, the secondary hasnt put up much of a fight. The Panthers are 122nd in the country in passing yards allowed (298.9).---AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report. Greg Joseph Jersey . 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Browns Jerseys China .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. BEIJING -- Outrage after losing to Syria has been followed by an air of resignation in China.The national soccer teams second loss in five days leaves China with only the slimmest chance of qualifying for the next World Cup.The perennial underachievers have under-performed against a backdrop of massive investment in the domestic league, which is luring star players in record-breaking transfers and coaches from around the world. The imported talent doesnt appear to be improving the vast pool of local players.Gao Hongbo quit after the 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan on Tuesday night left his team with just one point from four games in Asias last round of World Cup qualifying. Gao spoke to the Chinese Football Association after last weeks 1-0 home loss to war-torn Syria -- a result that reportedly sparked angry protests from fans -- and indicated hed stand aside if there was a loss in Tashkent.As a result of this defeat, I bring an end to my time in charge of the China national team, he said. I hope the China national team will be better in the future and we will meet in football again.Critics questioned his team selections and tactical decisions, but an editorial in the Communist Party flagship Peoples Daily on Wednesday said the analysis was ultimately meaningless. The newspaper bemoaned the fact that, despite some early signs of hope, China was the weakest of the 12 teams still in contention in Asia.With such a team and such players, what would it matter whether they were coached by Ferguson, Mourinho or Guardiola? the editorial said. The midfield was in constant flux and the power of the attack was virtually nil. With all the `foreign assistance running wild in the Chinese Super League, just coming up with a roster of 23 was no easy task.Given that China again has only a theoretical possibility of making it out of the group stage, thinking calmly, should Chinese football not return to the starting point and start from scratch?The Peoples Daily said the Chinese Super League was papering over deficiencies in the national football setup with all the money both earned by selling television rights and spent on hiring foreign players and coaches.ddddddddddddClubs in the league have spent more than $400 million on foreign players in 2016 alone. South American stars such as Hulk, Alex Teixeira, Ramires and Jackson Martinez have helped Shanghai SIPG, Jiangsu Suning and Guangzhou Evergrande challenge in the domestic competition and in the Asian Champions League.High-profile coaches including Luiz Felipe Scolari, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Manuel Pellegrini have also lifted the international profile of the league.China is mobilizing under President Xi Jinpings drive to overhaul the game domestically and turn the Chinese team into a World Cup winner by 2050.But despite the investment from the private and public sector -- the government is also focusing on youth development -- the standard of the national team will take longer to improve.The Peoples Daily didnt recognize any improvement in its editorial, instead saying Chinas national team is merely marching in place or even going backward in terms of quality.The rebuilding phase must start immediately, with China hosting Qatar next month in its last World Cup qualifier of the year. There are five more matches, starting in March. To have any chance of making it to Russia for the 2018 tournament, China needs to get on a winning roll and rely on group leaders Iran, Uzbekistan and South Korea failing to pick up many points. Only the top two teams in both six-team qualifying groups wil