Saturday Blitz ACC Power Rankings Week 4
8. Pittsburgh Panthers 3-1 (1-0), Lost to Iowa Hawkeyes 24-20 Last Saturday
Pittsburgh was very close to being in the Top 2 of this list after starting the season 3-0 and scoring a big win against Boston College, who beat USC a week later. But a home loss to Iowa, who lost to Iowa State the week before, significantly knocks them down the rankings.
The Panthers, to be fair, are still very young and playing with house money as they try to develop for the next few years, but that youth is going to hold them back at times this year. Iowa is a team that they could have beaten, and outside of Boston College, there’s not a lot on this resume.
The Panthers have got to get a better passing game as they enter ACC play because the rushing game and defense are fine. Chad Voytik hasn’t done anything to lose games, but he could have come through more against the Hawkeyes. That wasn’t a great performance against a team that doesn’t blow your mind with the way it plays defense. Pitt has plenty of chances to move up in the future with ACC play set to begin in two weeks, but they haven’t done enough yet.