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1983 Pittsburgh

8–⁠3–⁠1, coached by Foge Fazio, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 1983, game by game: won at Tennessee 13–3; won vs. Temple 35–0; lost at Maryland 7–13; lost at No. 7 West Virginia 21–24; won vs. Florida State 17–16; won at Louisville 55–10; won at Navy 21–14; won vs. Syracuse 13–10; won at No. 18 Notre Dame 21–16; won vs. Army 38–7; tied vs. Penn State 24–24; lost vs. No. 14 Ohio State 23–28+45−6Won 13–3 at Tennessee+10TennesseeWon 35–0 vs. Temple+35TempleLost 7–13 at Maryland-6MarylandLost 21–24 at No. 7 West Virginia-3No. 7 West VirginiaWon 17–16 vs. Florida State+1Florida StateWon 55–10 at Louisville+45LouisvilleWon 21–14 at Navy+7NavyWon 13–10 vs. Syracuse+3SyracuseWon 21–16 at No. 18 Notre Dame+5No. 18 Notre DameWon 38–7 vs. Army+31ArmyTied 24–24 vs. Penn State0Penn StateLost 23–28 vs. No. 14 Ohio State-5No. 14 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atTennesseeW 13–⁠359%
Sep 10vsTempleW 35–⁠077%
Sep 24atMarylandL 7–⁠1354%
Oct 1at7West VirginiaL 21–⁠2438%
Oct 8vsFlorida StateW 17–⁠1663%
Oct 15atLouisvilleW 55–⁠1068%
Oct 22atNavyW 21–⁠1471%
Oct 29vsSyracuseW 13–⁠1085%
Nov 5at18Notre DameW 21–⁠1647%
Nov 12vsArmyW 38–⁠792%
Nov 19vsPenn StateT 24–⁠2461%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs14Ohio StateFiesta BowlL 23–⁠2853%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 28–⁠23 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 19
  2. Wk 4: 16
  3. Wk 11: 20
  4. Wk 12: 17
  5. Wk 13: 16
  6. Wk 14: 15
  7. Wk 15: 15
  8. Final: 18

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1983.

Consensus All-AmericanBill Fralic, OT

Record
8–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
2–⁠1–⁠1 3rd in the Major eastern college football independents (Wikipedia)
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 15
Points
288–⁠165
Coach
Foge Fazio
Elo
1691 +49 this season
SP+ rating
14.5 No. 21 of 108; offense No. 45, defense No. 11
SRS
13.8 No. 14 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Joe Moore
Defensive coordinator
Bob Junko
Offense
West Coast
Defense
Multiple front

Drafted in 1984

The 1984 draft
Rd 1Bill Maas DTKansas City Chiefs
Rd 2Jim Sweeney CNew York Jets
Rd 3Joe McCall RBLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 5Tom Flynn DBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Dwight Collins WRMinnesota Vikings