Four straight losses, three of them blowouts, mean it’s time – maybe past time – for Duke to work on every aspect of what it’s doing in games.

“People said, ‘What are you working on?’ I mean, I don't think it's unfair to say everything,” coach David Cutcliffe said. “You look at every aspect of the program.”

Duke is mired in this four-game losing streak with one of the ACC’s best teams, Pittsburgh, coming to Durham, making a bounce-back performance all the more unlikely.

Then again, crazier things have happened in the Coastal Division.

The Blue Devils’ course of action to get back on track is to continue searching.

“If you look at everything, if you turn every dial, if you detail every part of your program, if you keep working, then there's an end result that you're looking for that you want,” Cutcliffe said.

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Here’s a primer on what you need to know for Saturday’s game:

Time: Noon

TV: ACC Network

Announcers: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Taylor Davis (sideline).

Series; last meeting: Pitt leads 15-9; Pitt won 33-30 in 2019.

Records: Pitt 6-2, 3-1 ACC; Duke 3-5, 0-4.

Stat to watch: 43.9 | 33.3

The first is Pitt’s scoring average, which is the best in the ACC; the second is Duke’s scoring defense, which is the worst in the ACC.

On paper, this is the simplest way to illustrate how difficult of a matchup this is for Duke. The Blue Devils haven’t held a team under 30 points since the 30-23 win against Northwestern in the third week of the season.

The unknown here is how Pitt responds after its first ACC loss of the season. The Panthers are still the favorites to win the Coastal Division, but last week’s 38-34 loss to Miami eliminated any margin for error. Whether Pitt is still in a malaise from that game or can bounce back will go a significant way in determining how much of a shot Duke has at an upset.

Matchup to watch: Quarterback Kenny Pickett vs. Duke’s secondary.

Pickett has probably been the best quarterback in a conference filled with good ones this season, and Duke’s secondary has already been picked apart by three others. Pitt’s fifth-year QB threw for a program-record 517 yards in last week’s loss, and entered the week ranked in the top 10 nationally for total offense, passing touchdowns and passing efficiency.

Duke gave up a combined 350 yards and three touchdowns to Sam Howell, 398 yards and three touchdowns to Brennan Armstrong, and 463 yards and five touchdowns to Sam Hartman.

Quote of the week: “You understand what the difference in pain and injury is. You really do. People use that term forever, but that's real. The more you play the game … you learn how to push through things and do what you have to do to be successful.” – Cutcliffe in relation to quarterback Gunnar Holmberg, who suffered a hand injury at Wake Forest and returned later in the game.

Opposing player to watch: Jordan Addison, wide receiver.

You likely know about Pickett, so get to know his favorite target.

Addison is sophomore who has been Pitt’s leading receiver in six of eight games, and he’s one of three receivers in the ACC who’s averaging more than 100 yards per game (UNC’s Josh Downs and Virginia’s Dontayvion Wicks are the others).

Addison lines up in the slot the majority of his snaps, but has been out wide 31% of the time. Of his 815 yards, 325 have come after the catch; and he’s hauled in 11 of his 17 contested-catch targets (per Pro Football Focus).

Young Blue Devil to watch: Jaylen Stinson, safety.

All hands on deck in Duke’s secondary this week.

Despite not being listed as a starter, Stinson has played over 30 snaps in four of the last five games and has had an up-and-down season.

He’s limited opponents to 17 catches on 32 targets against him, and his tackling grade was 79.6 against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest (per PFF). The problem is, his tackling grade was under 30 in Duke’s other two ACC games.

Prediction: This isn’t impossible for Duke to pull off an upset – but it sure seems unlikely.

It’s another game against one of the top teams in the ACC that presents matchup problems for the Blue Devils. Duke was torched through the air by North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest, and now another one of the ACC’s best passing offense comes to town.

Duke needs a lot of things to go right, and probably for Pitt to do some uncharacteristic things, to win this game and turn this season around.