Pittsburgh Football: Panthers look towards a bowl in 2018
By Shane Lunnen
Schedule and predictions
Week Date Opponent
1 Sat, Sept 1 Albany
2 Sat, Sept 8 Penn State
3 Sat, Sept 15 Georgia Tech
4 Sat, Sept 22 @ North Carolina
5 Sat, Sept 29 @ UCF
6 Sat, Oct 6 Syracuse
7 Sat, Oct 13 @ Notre Dame
8 Sat, Oct 20 BYE
9 Sat, Oct 27 Duke
10 Fri, Nov 2 @ Virginia
11 Sat, Nov 10 Virginia Tech
12 Sat, Nov 17 @ Wake Forest
13 Sat, Nov 24 @ Miami
There are plenty of opportunities for wins this season and for Pitt to improve their standing from a year ago. Getting back to a bowl game is in the cards. Winning a bowl is something Narduzzi has yet to do at Pitt.
The non-conference slate is tough. The Panthers had close calls with Youngstown State two out of the last three seasons, but Albany should be a victory to begin the year. Then Penn State visits in week two for a prime-time matchup at Heinz Field. Pitt will be amped for that game against their in state rival. Road trips to Orlando and South Bend will be challenging.
Pitt will need to get to bowl eligibility in their ACC schedule. The slate does not feature Clemson nor Florida State so that is a good reprieve. The back end of the schedule is really tough, so games against Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Syracuse are must-wins. After a bye week, three of the final five games are on the road. Duke and Virginia need to be wins and getting the Hokies at home will be helpful. Traveling to Wake and Miami in the last two weeks will not be cakewalks, especially with the Hurricanes looking for revenge.
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The Panthers have enough talent here to win six games. They seem every year to pull off an upset that no one saw coming. Pitt is good enough to beat one of Penn State, UCF, Notre Dame or Virginia Tech. Win one of those and even a .500 season with a bowl appearance will seem like a solid year.