#H2P... PITT IS IT! - A Pitt Panthers Dynasty (NCAA 14)

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National Championship Set as Oklahoma Holds Off LSU
Report by Matt Schmidlin | December 29, 2018

Behind the strength of 353 all-purpose yards, Kyler Murray led the #3-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to the brink of their first national championship since 2000, knocking off #2 LSU, 28-19, in the Cotton Bowl.

Murray's favorite target on the day was AD Miller, who racked up 179 yards on 6 catches, including a 93 yard grab in the second quarter that set up a Murray rushing score from a couple yards out. Joe Mixon added 114 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown, while Murray finished with 323 yards through the air and 30 on the turf.

A couple turnovers from the talented quarterback did keep LSU and Heisman runner up Derrius Guice in the contest, but LSU's run heavy attack wasn't suited for an air raid comeback which fell even with a late touchdown pass from Lousiana Tech transfer J'Mar Smith. Smith finished with 206 yards through the air and 40 on the ground, while Guice ran for 88 yards in his final collegiate appearance.

With the victory, Oklahoma will face off with top ranked Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. The Huskies dispatched #4-ranked Pitt, 31-24, in the Orange Bowl behind a 370 yard passing performance by senior signal caller Jake Browning.

Early betting lines have put the Huskies as 4.5 point favorites over the Sooners when they matchup in New Orleans.

Sound Off: Who do you have taking home the title?

Up Next: The CFP National Championship Game!

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Bow Down to Washington
Report by Matt Schmidlin | January 7, 2019

CFP National Championship Game -- New Orleans, LA
#3 Oklahoma 14-1 (9-0) -- 20
#1 Washington 15-0 (9-0) -- 27

The Washington Huskies are national champions! The top-ranked Huskies capped off one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory, beating #3-ranked Oklahoma, 27-20, to claim the FBS National Championship and cap off a 15-0 campaign. Led by a three sack performance from Benning Potoae, the Huskies' top-ranked defense kept Kyler Murray running for his life all evening, and scored a touchdown that provided the difference in the contest as Camilo Eifler took a Murray miscue back to the house.

The Huskies spread the ball around on offense, with Jake Browning finding Andre Baccelia for a touchdown in the back of the endzone and Miles Gaskin chipping in with his 17th rushing touchdown of the season. Murray threw a late touchdown pass for the Sooners as they cut the final deficit to a single score, and Joe Mixon added a touchdown on the ground for the Sooners. Both teams knocked a pair of field goals through the uprights as well.

For the full game recap and video highlights, check out the embedded video!

Up Next: Around the NCAA: Season Recap

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National Roundup: 2018 NCAA Season in Review
Report by Matt Schmidlin | January 10, 2019


For a full review of the 2018 College Football season, check out the video from the Pitt Panthers Football Network!

With Washington bringing home the national title for the first time since 1991, it capped a dream season for the Huskies. With this year's implementation of the College Football Playoff, Washington became the first team in NCAA FBS history to win 15 games, finishing unbeaten at 15-0 to cap off one of the most dominant seasons in college football history.

Beyond the Huskies, 3 schools finished with just a sole loss, with Joe Burrow and Ohio State cruising past UCLA in their bowl game to state their claim that they were snubbed from the playoff field in favor of Pitt, who narrowly lost to Washington in the national semifinals. National runner up Oklahoma and semifinalist LSU were the remaining pair of one loss schools.

Lincoln Riley and Middle Tennessee State were a huge surprise in the Group of 5 realm because of the real quality of their team (91 OVR), but they struggled in a 42-21 drubbing at the hands of Alabama and were brought back to earth. Without Senior QB Brent Stockstill (99 OVR) next year, they may be headed for a significant regression. Arkansas State also gave some respect to mid major nation, with the Red Wolves following up their 12-1 season from a year ago by going 11-2 and winning in the GoDaddy.com Bowl to finish as the #17 ranked team in the nation.

One of the biggest surprise turnarounds had to come from Illinois, where Lovie Smith led the Fighting Illini on an incredible upswing. One season after finishing with just 3 wins, the Illini were wrapping up a 10-3 campaign with a #20 ranking and Gator Bowl victory over South Carolina.

North Carolina State accomplished something similar under head coach Robert Prunty, with a seven win turnaround from a 3-9 2017 season to a 10-3 2018 campaign that culminated in a Sun Bowl victory and #18 national ranking. After such great success, Prunty is heavily rumored to be a top candidate for the USC head coach position, which was vacated when Clay Helton was fired after the Trojans failed to win a game for the first season in their history, finishing winless at 0-12. Kennedy Polamalu, currently head coach at UL-Lafayette and a USC alum, is also rumored to be in the mix for the position.

Up Next: Pitt Panthers 2018 Season in Review

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Panthers on Top of the ACC Mountain
Report by Matt Schmidlin | January 11, 2019

The Pitt Panthers have been a bit of a Yo-Yo under the leadership of Pat Narduzzi. After an 8-5 record in his 2015 inaugural campaign (prior to the start of this dynasty), the Nard Dog led the Panthers to a 12-2 record with a Chick Fil A Peach Bowl victory and ACC Coastal Division title. They regressed to another 8-5 result in 2017, losing in the Music City Bowl to Texas A&M, but were able to hit new heights this past season. The Panthers won another Coastal division title before pulling in their first ever outright conference title in football as they knocked off two-time defending national champions Clemson. The ACC win gave them their first ever College Football Playoff berth, where they lost, 31-24, to eventual National Champion Washington.

The Panthers have experienced their best three year span since the days of Dan Marino and Hugh Green, with the highs of this season rising nearly to the heights of the 1976 national champions led by Tony Dorsett. An early season win over rivals Penn State (though PSU fans will tell you that they are 'unrivaled') gave the Panthers their third straight win in the series since it was renewed in 2016, with the Nittany Lions clock management gifting the Panthers this game.

Pitt nearly ran the table, with their only blemish coming via the buzzsaw that was Heisman winner Lamar Jackson, as he put together a Robo-QB-esque performance with 5 total touchdowns against just 4 incompletions as he lead Louisville into Heinz Field to demolish the Panthers and knock them down to 3-1 and in an early hole in ACC play.

The Panthers rebounded with eight straight wins, though, propelling themselves into the ACC Championship on the backs of their two Senior horses, Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall. Each member of the duo ran for 1200+ yards and 12+ TDs on the season, in spite of each missing at game at various points due to injury. The highlights of the stretch were a 33-19 drubbing of then-#1 Notre Dame in South Bend and an incredible come from behind victory over Miami in the final regular season game to clinch the ACC Coastal crown. The Panthers trailed the Hurricanes by 24 at one point (27-3), but rallied to win in overtime, 40-33.

They saved their most dominant performance for the rematch of 2016's ACC title contest, as they stifled Clemson's offensive attack to the tune of 156 total yards and just three points in a suffocating 27-3 victory for their first ever ACC crown.

Despite a disappointing defeat in the Orange Bowl to Washington where the Panthers squandered a second half lead, they finished off their most successful campaign under Narduzzi with a 12-2 record and ACC title belt around their waist. They hope to be challenging for an even bigger title belt next season.

Up Next: Pitt Panthers 2018 Position by Position Review

[Deuce2223]

Looking forward to the upcoming season.

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2018 Position Review: Offense
Report by Matt Schmidlin | January 14, 2019

We will look through the Pitt Panthers' 2018 season in two segments. In this section, we will review the performance of the different segments of the offense. We will provide the defensive and special teams review in the next installment coming very soon.



Sophomore Kenny Pickett took over the reins from Ben DiNucci to take every snap under center for the Pitt Panthers in 2018. Overall, it was very much what you expect from a second year player in his first year as a starter: inconsistent. At times Pickett was able to show the electric athleticism and talent which explained Pat Narduzzi burning his redshirt in the Panthers' Music City Bowl appearance in 2017, and at other times he struggled to move the ball through the air (most notably against Washington). Pickett wasn't asked to do terribly much on many occasions as he was able to feed the Panthers' stud halfbacks for the majority of contests, and then make opposing defenses pay when they stuffed the box to stop the run. Overall, it was a very solid first season for the Panthers' new QB1, as he compiled 2430 passing yards and a solid 7.8 yards per attempt average while also adding 419 yards on the ground as well. The yards are impressive as that includes losing yardage on 24 sacks, so you could estimate his rushing totals conservatively near 500 yards or more. Pickett showed a marked improvement as his second year outpaced that of former starter DiNucci, who passed for numbers just under that of Pickett and rushed for nearly 150 yards less as well in the previous campaign. Pickett's 18:11 QB:INT ratio also improved on DiNucci's 15:12 of the previous season, vindicating Narduzzi for his seemingly arbitray switch in signal caller, though the loss of a redshirt year for Pickett still baffles many Panther fans.

Pickett will be expected to shoulder a much more significant burden in 2019, with the Panthers' leading returning rusher posting just a whopping 152 yards on the ground last season. Expect to see a greater emphasis on the passing game with Pickett at the helm. With DiNucci entering the transfer portal and expected to start immediately next season for one of a number of suitors, Pickett will be backed up by a group with little experience but a lot of talent. Acey Reese is an intriguing dual threat option who should be very solid after a year redshirting and learning the offense, while potential incoming recruit Jay Keyes (5*, #2 ATH, #2 OVR) could throw his name in the ring to feature as a slash type player and could see the field anywhere in the Panthers' offense.



Pat Narduzzi comes from an old school mentality, that much is extremely obvious. (He did coach in the Big 10 after all.) Narduzzi loves hard nosed football where his team can run the ball down your throat at will and then play tough defense, and none of his teams at Pitt have exemplified that more than this year's squad. The Panthers toted the ball on 67.7% of their plays (more than any school not running the triple option), led by arguably the nation's best duo in Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall. Ollison and Hall each averaged nearly 100 yards per game on their own, and combined for 2618 yards and 27 touchdowns. Those two were the backbone of the offense, while the Panthers shifted away from the jet sweeps and receivers runs that were a staple of their 2016 offense. Paul Lees did explode for a single 70 yard touchdown, but otherwise the big gains there were few and far between.

With both Ollison and Hall trying to ply their trade at the next level, CJ London will be expected to lug the rock for the Panthers next year. As a true freshman, London picked up 152 yards, while his expected backfield partner Todd Sibley didn't get a single carry all season.



With such a prolific rushing attack, the Panthers' receiving corps wasn't asked to do too much to carry the offensive load. Maurice Ffrench proved to be the most explosive option in the aerial arsenal, with team leading totals in receptions (39), yards (605), and average (15.5). French's explosive speed let him get in behind opposing defenses and provide the best option as a deep threat, though he was far from the Jester Weah dynasty best average of 22.6 yards per catch in 2016. The Panthers' spread the wealth in the passing game, with 5 different receivers catching 22 or more passes, and 7 players with 12 or more receptions.

Rafael Araujo-Lopes is the only notable pass catcher to be leaving to graduation, and his reliability will be sorely missed. The Florida native reeled in 37 passes and was incredibly consistent all season in picking up first downs when found by Kenny Pickett.

Aaron Mathews will be expected make the biggest leap forward for the Panthers heading into 2019, especially with more emphasis expected to be placed on the passing game. Mathews has the most NFL-ready frame at 6'4" and the talent to be a real threat, but hauled in just 28 passes last season while racking up a team leading 5 drops. Also expected to contribute will be Tre Tipton, who has been a steady performer and reeled in 25 passes last season, and Paul Lees, who burst on the scene with 22 receptions as a true freshman and should be battling with Tipton for the starting slot receiver role.



Take statkeeping with a grain of salt when evaluating the Panthers' offensive line, as the statistician for Pitt games must have been asleep at the wheel. Alec Bookser was able to earn second team All American status against an apparently paltry statline of 8 pancakes to 7 sacks allowed, and there are a conspicuous 7 sacks not accounted for in the listing, so who knows what was going on up in the booth. That said, the Panthers will be losing 2 All-ACC performers in Bookser and Jaryd Jones-Smith, who showed great improvement in bumping his pancake total up by two and cutting his number of sacks allowed in half from last season. They will also lose center Connor Dintino, who was very solid with a 7:2 pancake to sacks ratio. While having to replace three starters, returners Tony Pilato and Cameron Porter will be expected to anchor the left side of the line, with Porter still sporting an unblemished record according to the "very reliable" stat keepers. Also, please note Aaron Mathews's incredible 25 PANCAKES from the wide receiver position. The guy is an absolute monster on the edge and the Panthers will surely be running in his direction even more next season.

Up Next: Pitt Panthers 2018 Positional Review: Defense and Special Teams

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2018 Position Review: Defense
Report by Matt Schmidlin | January 15, 2019


For a full video recap of the Panthers' 2018 season, check out the video above!



Pat Narduzzi's Panthers are finally starting to look like a traditional Pat Narduzzi defense. In his fourth year at the helm, Narduzzi had the Panthers looking tenacious up front, shrinking their PPG to a very respectable 20.6 from the previous year's paltry 26.2 average. On the yardage front, the Panthers sliced off nearly forty yards from their previous year's average (361.7 from 398.0) on the back's of a stifling run defense which gave up just 87.2 YPG, which was down from a still stout 119.3 YPG from the year prior. The Panthers' aerial defense made more moderate improvements, giving up just 274.5 YPG after surrendering 278.7 the year before. There were extremes as always, with Washington shredding the Panthers in the playoff to the tune of 371 passing yards, while Pitt completely shut down Kelly Bryant (who threw for 350+ yards in a bowl game victory over Notre Dame) and held Clemson to just 74 passing yards and 156 yards overall.

Saleem Brightwell anchored the defense last season, leading the way with 91 tackles and 22 tackles for loss, and overall the Panthers will only lose three of their top 12 tacklers from this past season. Especially dangerous should be the Panthers' pass defense, which loses just SS Dennis Briggs (who was arguably the weakest point of the starting secondary) and will expecting huge senior seasons from starting corners Damar Hamlin and Dane Jackson. Hamlin reeled in five interceptions for the second consecutive season as he shifted out of the nickel role to an outside corner spot, while Jackson pulled in four picks, two of which he returned to the house for scores. The biggest key to the Panthers' success will be Junior safety Paris Ford, who was electrifying to earn Freshman All-American honors in 2017 with 4 interceptions and a couple forced fumbles. He struggled through a bit of a sophomore slump this season, with just one interception, but the Panthers will need him to replicate his freshman season form to take the next step as a defense.

Somehow, the defenseive recap has gotten this far without mentioning the dynamo that is Shaun Wolfgang. The sophomore DE from Security-Widefield, CO was unstoppable all season, racking up 16 sacks to lead the nation by a wide margin in his first year starting, after a solid contribution of 3 sacks as a freshman. He also totaled 27 tackles for loss to lead the team. Wolfgang took over as offenes keyed up on senior Dewayne Hendrix, resulting in Hendrix's production dropping to just three sacks from 14 the year earlier.

The only other starters the Panthers will lose will be OLBs Seun Idowu and Elijah Zeise, but Barry Jenkins II and Jason Jordan played significant snaps this season and should slot into those roles without a hitch.



Kicker Jay Bump finished as runner up for the Groza Award after a solid campaign where he made 19 of 21 field goals attempts and was perfect on extra points. His only real shortcoming is leg strength, with his long being just 46 yards, which isn't terrible for a collegiate kicker. Freshman punter Eric Fox was solid if unspectacular, and should continue to improve for next season.

The Panther return game did see a bit of a drop off following the exodus of star returner Quadree Henderson, with Maurice Ffrench assuming kick return duties and Kaiyser Artis Scott and Rafael Araujo-Lopes handling punts. French was solid, with one of the top return averages in the country though he didn't find the endzone, but Artis Scott and Araujo-Lopes both were underwhelming and created very little excitement. Expect to see changes on the punt return team for next season.

[Hellisan]

Hey man! Congratulations on a fantastic season with Pitt. I really enjoy your dynasty videos. Your presentation style reminds me a little of Mr Hurricane (sp) and I'm not sure if you were inspired by him or even subscribe to him but that's kind of what it reminds me of. I listened to the season wrap while editing some work. While it sucks to fall short, Pitt has come a great length in a short period of time. Wolfgang's season was the most impressive thing about the dynasty to me. I've struggled getting sacks from the DE after the move to Iowa (mine have really stunk for the most part) so it was cool to see somebody else having some success there.

I'm looking for Ffrench to have a massive senior year. Are you keying on any specific schemes or alignments to get him freed up a little more? Obviously Mathews has that kind of ability as well, the blocking is stupid good.