Pittsburgh Football: Panthers look towards a bowl in 2018

Pitt football ended an up and down season in 2017 with an upset over Miami. Can the Panthers use the win to springboard into a better 2018?

It was a tough year for coach Pat Narduzzi and Pitt in 2017. After back to back eight win seasons, the Panthers took a step back finishing 5-7. The schedule was set up for more wins with no Florida State or Clemson. However, the Panthers could never find consistency, losing to ACC bottom dwellers Syracuse and North Carolina. Somehow Pitt pulled off a huge upset over second-ranked Miami to conclude the season.

When Narduzzi was hired from Michigan State, he was expected to improve Pitt’s defenses but so far his teams have had lackluster results. He is now entering his fourth year in Pittsburgh with expectations certainly higher than five wins. The recruiting has been pretty solid and this should be Narduzzi’s best defense to date. The offense has the potential to be more consistent than last year’s unit. If Pitt can beat the teams they should and pull off another Miami type upset, it would be a step forward.

Narduzzi is not in the win or else category yet, but he has to avoid another losing season. A bowl game is there for the taking. Let’s take a look at both side of the ball and dole out some predictions.