Pittsburgh Panthers 2016 NCAA Football Preview
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
Atlantic Coast Conference – Coastal Division
2015 Record – 8-5
ATS – 6-7
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
Coastal Division #3
Conference #6
2015 Recap
Pitt continued the ride on the coaching carousel last year with their seemingly 15th head coach in the last five years. This time, however, the Panthers may have got it right with Pat Narduzzi who led them to their first 8-win season since 2010. In fact – Pitt’s five losses game against teams that combined to win 78% of their games. They won 6 conference tilts and were 4-1 ATS as a road dog. It was a disappointing end to the season losing to Miami and Navy – but it appears that Pitt may have built a foundation for a nice run in the coming years.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
The Panthers ran an underrated and balanced attack last season. They scored over 20 points in 11/13 games and rushed for 187 yards/game while passing for 191. The big question mark this year is how Pitt deals with the loss of the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards – Tyler Boyd. The answer is likely to be a combination of Dontez Ford stepping up, a surprise or two from the WR depth chart and more emphasis on the running game complemented by a solid and experienced offensive line. Pitt returns RB Qadree Ollison who emerged to become ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year after starter James Conner was lost due to injury in week one. Conner is on schedule to be ready for the season – despite battling Hodgkin lymphoma – and let’s not forget that in 2014 Connor rushed for over 1700 yards and 26 TD. QB Nathan Peterman performed well in his first full season as starter (15 TD 1 INT in conference play; Pitt 4th in ACC team passing efficiency) and it will be interesting to see how he performs without Boyd and a new OC.
DEFENSE
Pitt finished in the middle of the pack in ACC total defense last year but they should be a lot more formidable in 2016 given that they return 8 starters and are in the 2nd year under Pat Narduzzi. Last year the Panthers registered the most sacks (37) since 2011 and had a dozen players register at least one sack. The team leader in sacks Ejuan Price returns along with the top 3 tacklers from last season. Now is probably a good time to mention Jordan Whitehead.
JUGGERNAUT ALERT – DB Jordan Whitehead received an abundance of post-season award recognition for his fantastic freshman season. He was voted consensus Freshman All-American and ACC coaches recognized him as the conference Defensive Rookie of the Year as well as a co-recipient of the overall Rookie of the Year award (shared with teammate Qadree Ollison). Not only did Whitehead lead the team in tackles in 2015 (true freshman record 109) – but in November they started using him as an offensive weapon as well. This included a two-TD performance vs Notre Dame. It should be noted that MEGALOCKS NCAA Deep Insiders advised us that Whitehead had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in June. Expectation are that he will be ready for August camp. Hopefully he will be ready to go because it will be a lot of fun watching him in 2016.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Panthers look strong across the board. PK, P, return game and penchant for blocks (5 kicks, 2 punts) make this one of the top units in the conference.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 9.0
MEGALOCKS says:
All the pieces appear to be in place for the Panthers to have an excellent season. Even the most skeptical Pitt fan has to have a bit of optimism. We do not see a real weakness on this team other than potential struggles MATRICULATING in the passing game without WR Boyd in the mix. The schedule looks pretty nasty with a 3-game stretch early (Penn St, at Oklahoma St, at UNC) and back to back tough ones (at Miami, at Clemson) later in the season. However – on paper this team looks solid and will be a tough out in every game this season.
Overall, we give the PANTHERS a 9.0 ATS Value Rating (Excellent) this season. Narduzzi proved last year that he could have his team ready to perform well in conference games and on the road. They should be even better in his 2nd year at the helm and that solid D and running game make us believe Pitt will be a money-maker this year. This is especially true since they are not flashy and may fly a bit under the radar. They should be extra-tasty when catching points.
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