Pittsburgh won the Coastal Division and went 6-2 in the ACC. They lost 7 games including their last 3 and got blown out by Penn State, UCF, and Clemson. They blew a 4th quarter lead in the Sun Bowl to Stanford to lose 14-13.
For almost every ACC team, there’s a line that said we’re happy with or not with our year. Pittsburgh more than any other ACC team it’s hard to decide exactly how they should feel about the 2018 season.
Was the 7-7 a product of a difficult schedule with UCF, Penn State, and Notre Dame OOC? That could easily be a 9-5 season or is it a product of a water-downed Coastal Division.
Is it possible Pittsburgh just hasn’t made any progress? In Pat Narduzzi’s first two year, the Panthers won 8 games both years. The last 2 years they’ve averaged just 6 wins.
I like Pat Narduzzi as head coach. I think he’s built Pitt into a pretty well coached physical football team. It’s awfully tough for them to match up with the better teams in the country, though.
I would definitely start by overhauling the 96th ranked offense in college football. Shawn Watson isn’t the answer at offensive coordinator. It certainly isn’t the dynamic offenses of the Matt Canada years. If Canada isn’t retained at Maryland, should a call be made to him?
The QB position is a problem too. Kenny Pickett is a nice player, but he’s hardly a game changer.
Pickett is probably going to be the starter next year, too. I doubt that Patti will beat him out. Beville will be a true freshman, so that’s possible, but unlikely. The best hope to compete with him may be a grad transfer, but Pitt won’t be the first choice of anyone good.
— Chris Dokish (@ChrisDokish) December 31, 2018
What helps Pittsburgh is the Coastal Division doesn’t seem to be much better next year. Virginia, UNC, and Georgia Tech just changed coaches. Virginia Tech has personal issues on their defense. Duke just lost QB Daniel Jones. Virginia likely enters as the favorite, but they don’t have the talent to overwhelm the division.
Notre Dame drops off the schedule, and UCF comes to Pitt. I except UCF to take a step back too. There at especially on that, but it’s to the Panthers the 7 next and a player in the Coastal Division.
Pittsburgh won the Coastal Division and in the end of an up and down season, that is a major accomplishment. We asked earlier if Pitt made progress? Winning the Coastal Division is progress.
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