College Football: 5 Power Five teams that will miss a bowl in 2017

Pittsburgh was very nearly 0-1 to start its season after FCS Youngstown State took the Panthers to overtime in Week 1. Pitt struggled to put away last year’s FCS national finalist, giving up over 400 yards of offense to the Penguins despite a nine-minute advantage in time of possession. It very nearly spelled disaster for the Panthers’ season right out of the gate.

In the end, the survival in overtime merely delayed the inevitable. On Saturday, Pittsburgh was manhandled by the Penn State defense in a 33-14 loss on the road. The Panthers did manage to gain 155 rushing yards against the Nittany Lions, but they needed 45 carries to get there. The team scored just one offensive touchdown. Thus, even though they bottled up Penn State’s offense most of the game, Pitt still lost by 19 to fall to 1-1.

Graduate transfer Max Browne looks incapable of make a substantive difference for Pitt after arriving from USC. The quarterback has completed 36 of his first 56 passes as a Panther, posting a solid enough 64.3 percent completion rate. But in those 56 throws, Browne has gained just 278 yards while throwing a touchdown and two picks.

With a mediocre ground game and no real ability to attack teams through the air, Pitt is in for a long season in 2017. With No. 9 Oklahoma State coming to town next week, the Panthers will likely be 1-2 heading into the ACC season. The only guaranteed win left could be Rice — and even that statement is worthy of scrutiny for Pat Narduzzi’s team this year.