Ultimate College Football Preview, 130 Teams In A 130 Days: Pitt

Welcome to the Ultimate College Football Preview for 2023. Every team in FBS Football will be covered in this daily blog release. All of your favorite teams from the ACC, AAC, Big 12, Big 10, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, PAC 12, SEC, Sun Belt & even every Independent. Think of these daily college football previews as a cheat sheet going into next year.

2022 Recap:

The Panthers had the average Pitt College Football year. They finished with a bowl win and a 9-4 record. That is who Pitt has always been. A good team, not great, never terrible. They were able to win their huge rivalry with West Virginia and finished the year ranked in the top 25. I would call the 2022 campaign for Pitt a success, the only bad loss they had was to a bad Georgia Tech team. If they win that and they should have, Pitt is a double digit win team in 2022.

Head Coach:

Coach Pat Narduzzi is one of the most successful and longest tenured coaches in the ACC. He has one ACC championship under his belt and 2 division championships as well. He has been at Pitt for 8 season posting a 62-41 overall record. As I stated in the previous paragraph Pitt is always at the top of the division under Narduzzi they just always seem to lose a game or two that they shouldn’t. I would say in the conference he might be the second or third best coach even if he is a little too conservative for my liking results don’t lie.

Key Players:

Last year the Kedon Slovis trial did not really work at QB. This year Pitt is trying another transfer in Phil Jurkovec who definitely has more of an upside. He was a starter at Boston College for three years and has a lively arm. Pitt is also tasked with replacing the great Israel Abanikanda who was their best offensive weapon in the backfield. His backup last year Rodney Hammond Jr, who himself had 460 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns, will have a much bigger role. Pitt is also a little thing at WR losing 1,000 yard receiver Jared Wayne. The one productive WR coming back for Pitt is Konata Mumpfield and a lot will be asked of him. The defense is loaded with all senior or grad student starters. You never have to worry about Pitt’s defense because Narduzzi’s scheme is so damn good.

2023 Prediction:

This team will do what it always does and go 8-4. Maybe 9-3 but I have them losing to West Virginia in the rematch of the rivalry game. They will lose to Florida State, UNC and Notre Dame who are just better. But like I said Pitt will surprise you and can beat one of those three and WVU and go 10-2. If Jurkovec can ball out we know the defense is top 20 in the nation, Pitt could be a playoff sleeper. I said they would lose to the three tough teams on the schedule. If some how they knock off two of them they will be in the ACC Championship game again. High Floor, Higher Ceiling for the 2023 Pitt Panthers.