CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Pittsburgh

10–⁠3 (5–⁠2 Big East), coached by Dave Wannstedt, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2009, game by game: won vs. Youngstown State 38–3; won at Buffalo 54–27; won vs. Navy 27–14; lost at NC State 31–38; won at Louisville 35–10; won vs. UConn 24–21; won at Rutgers 24–17; won vs. South Florida 41–14; won vs. Syracuse 37–10; won vs. Notre Dame 27–22; lost at West Virginia 16–19; lost vs. No. 5 Cincinnati 44–45; won vs. North Carolina 19–17+35−7Won 38–3 vs. Youngstown State+35Youngstown StateWon 54–27 at Buffalo+27BuffaloWon 27–14 vs. Navy+13NavyLost 31–38 at NC State-7NC StateWon 35–10 at Louisville+25LouisvilleWon 24–21 vs. UConn+3UConnWon 24–17 at Rutgers+7RutgersWon 41–14 vs. South Florida+27South FloridaWon 37–10 vs. Syracuse+27SyracuseWon 27–22 vs. Notre Dame+5Notre DameLost 16–19 at West Virginia-3West VirginiaLost 44–45 vs. No. 5 Cincinnati-1No. 5 CincinnatiWon 19–17 vs. North Carolina+2North Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsYoungstown StateW 38–⁠387%
Sep 12atBuffaloW 54–⁠2751%
Sep 19vsNavyW 27–⁠1468%
Sep 26atNC StateL 31–⁠3857%
Oct 2atLouisvilleW 35–⁠1062%
Oct 10vsUConnW 24–⁠2165%
Oct 16atRutgersW 24–⁠1748%
Oct 24vsSouth FloridaW 41–⁠1465%
Nov 7vsSyracuseW 37–⁠1088%
Nov 14vsNotre DameW 27–⁠2272%
Nov 27atWest VirginiaL 16–⁠1950%
Dec 5vs5CincinnatiL 44–⁠4547%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsNorth CarolinaMeineke Car Care BowlW 19–⁠1760%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat North Carolina 19–⁠17 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big East.

In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 20
  2. Wk 9: 16
  3. Wk 10: 14
  4. Wk 11: 8
  5. Wk 12: 8
  6. Wk 13: 8
  7. Wk 14: 14
  8. Wk 15: 17
  9. Final: 15
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big East
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 8
Points
417–⁠257
Coach
Dave Wannstedt
Elo
1686 +113 this season
SP+ rating
17.9 No. 17 of 120; offense No. 14, defense No. 34, special teams No. 16
SRS
12.5 No. 16 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 43
Offensive coordinator
Frank Cignetti Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Phil Bennett
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense39th of 120
  • Defense45th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted53rd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0643%0.9439th of 120
Defense0.0339%0.9345th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.03 def		42% off
40% def		—42nd off
53rd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 342% allowed
Defense0.0own 285% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsBill Stull QB2,633 yds
Passing touchdownsBill Stull QB21 TD
Rushing yardsDion Lewis RB1,799 yds
Rushing touchdownsDion Lewis RB17 TD
Receiving yardsJonathan Baldwin WR1,111 yds
Receiving touchdownsDorin Dickerson TE10 TD
InterceptionsDom DeCicco DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Todd Thomas WR★★★★No. 229
Dan Mason ILB★★★★No. 244
Raymond Graham APB★★★★No. 332
Tyrone Ezell DT★★★No. 398
Shane Gordon ILB★★★No. 600

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.853
Running backs33.30.853
Receivers33.30.855
Offensive line43.00.833
Defensive line13.00.887
Linebackers23.50.889
Defensive backs13.00.833
Whole class153.20.854

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 6Nate Byham TESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7Dorin Dickerson TEHouston Texans

Roster 90

The 2009 roster

90 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 29 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Cincinnati7–⁠012–⁠18
Pittsburgh5–⁠210–⁠315
West Virginia5–⁠29–⁠425
Rutgers3–⁠49–⁠4
South Florida3–⁠48–⁠5
UConn3–⁠48–⁠5
Syracuse1–⁠64–⁠8
Louisville1–⁠64–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.