ACC Football Power Rankings: Can anyone topple Clemson?
By Dante Pryor
5. Pittsburgh Panthers
Key returning players: Kenny Pickett, Vincent Davis, Cam Bright, Taysir Mack
Key losses: Jaylen Twyman, Rashad Weaver, Patrick Jones II, Jimmy Morrissey
Season Outlook: The Pitt Panthers are always a tough out in the unpredictable ACC Coastal division. However, this season, the Panthers have some big holes to fill in the “other” Steel City. Pittsburgh lost eight NFL-caliber prospects from last season’s roster, six on defense.
The offensive line will miss center Jimmy Morrisey and guard Bryce Hargrove. However, the defensive line is without three game-changing defensive linemen in Jaylen Twyman, Rashad Weaver, and Patrick Jones II.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi and the defensive staff need to find a group of defensive ends to replace the production of Weaver and Jones (Twyman opted out last season).
Kenny Pickett returns for a fifth season at quarterback to lead the Pittsburgh offense. Though the Panthers do not have an explosive player on their offense, they found a way to score 29 points per game last season.
The Panthers do have a hole in the interior of their offensive line without Morrisey and Hargrove, but Pitt does not run the football efficiently anyway.
Even with all the question marks defensively, Pitt has a favorable non-conference schedule and possibly only needs two ACC wins to reach the postseason. To get those wins, Pitt does need to find some explosion on offense to find those wins.