For the first time in a decade, the Pittsburgh Panthers failed to make it to a bowl last season. Pittsburgh was unable to get much production out of its offense, which ranked outside of the top 100 in terms of scoring. That ended up costing them dearly as the defense took a step back in 2017. Pat Narduzzi is hoping he can get the Panthers back to bowl eligibility this year, but he loses a lot of starters from last year’s team.
Pittsburgh 2018 regular season win total
Over 5.5 (-115)
Under 5.5 (-115)
Odds courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook
What Happened Last Year
Pittsburgh looked uncompetitive against good teams over the first half of the year, but the Panthers took some big steps forward over their last five games. They pulled off an upset by beating Duke on the road and then followed that up with a win against Virginia the next week. That put them in the running for a bowl.
Unfortunately, the Panthers blew a winnable game against North Carolina at home and lost a tough one against Virginia Tech the next week. That left them sitting at 4-7 and ineligible for a bowl. However, Pitt did end the season with a bang. The Panthers knocked Miami from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 24-14 victory.
What Will Change This Year
Pittsburgh has a much better situation at quarterback than it did last year. Freshman Kenny Pickett emerged as a solid option at the end of 2017, and he was the one that led the upset over the Hurricanes.
Pickett left spring as the No. 1 quarterback. However, he will be pushed by JUCO transfer Ricky Town. Town was a five-star recruit out of high school and initially signed with USC. He was beaten out by Sam Darnold for the starting job though, leading to him taking his talents elsewhere.
The Panthers have good options at running back, but the offensive line is a concern. Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall are both solid runners, yet only two starters return to the offensive line. Former Kent State offensive lineman Stefano Millin is supposed to shore up the unit after Brian O’Neill was taken in the second round by the Minnesota Vikings.
Pittsburgh’s defense should be much better than it was in 2017. The Panthers will be more difficult to run on and have a stout front seven. The linebacking corps will be the strength of the team with all three starters returning. However, the secondary is very young and may struggle somewhat.
Outlook & Prediction
The Panthers have a very difficult non-conference schedule in 2018. Pittsburgh will only be favored to beat Albany, and the school will be an underdog in their other three games. Pitt must travel to UCF and Notre Dame and host a great Penn State team.
This team could very well be better than last year’s version and finish with the same or even worse record. The schedule is just too tough, even if the quarterback situation is improved. Six or seven wins is likely the absolute ceiling for Pitt.
