Pitt Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2020 season

Note: “All ACC football” is actually Richmond. No logo has been generated for the Spiders yet in our system.

The Panthers return home for their Sept. 19 matchup in what should be an easy victory against the Richmond Spiders. While the Spiders are not an FCS scrub, they have not made the playoff since their 2016 quarterfinal loss to Eastern Washington and will struggle against a talented Pitt team.

With ACC play a week away, the Panthers should look to their game against Richmond as a final chance to iron out any kinks if they want to make a serious push in 2020. Assuming a healthy lineup, unlike the team that just squeaked out a 17-14 win against Delaware last season, the Panthers should have no reason to be 3-0 heading into their ACC opener against Duke.

Kenny Pickett should establish a relationship with new receivers and the Panthers should be off to their best start since the 2014 season.

Record: 3-0

Pitt finishes off its first month of the 2020 season with a visit from ACC foe Duke.

The Panthers and Blue Devils should expect to enter their late-September matchup in a battle between unbeatens with Duke’s first three games agains Middle Tennessee, Elon and Charlotte. A win for either program should make some noise and see either team creep into the top 25 while a loss will come with an early “pretender” stamp.

The Blue Devils will likely be led by Clemson transfer Chase Brice at quarterback. He has thrown for over 1,000 yards after backing up both Kelly Bryant and Trevor Lawrence and will be a first-time starter in 2020.

While David Cutcliffe has been hard to put out and Brice should add a dimension to the Duke offense, Pitt’s defense should be too much to handle and the Panthers should be able to finish September 4-0 and add to Pat Narduzzi’s perfect 5-0 record against the Blue Devils.

Record: 4-0, 1-0 ACC