CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2012 Pittsburgh

6–⁠7 (3–⁠4 Big East), coached by Paul Chryst.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2012, game by game: lost vs. Youngstown State 17–31; lost at Cincinnati 10–34; won vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech 35–17; won vs. Gardner-Webb 55–10; lost at Syracuse 13–14; lost vs. No. 18 Louisville 35–45; won at Buffalo 20–6; won vs. Temple 47–17; lost at No. 4 Notre Dame 26–29; lost at UConn 17–24; won vs. No. 21 Rutgers 27–6; won at South Florida 27–3; lost vs. Ole Miss 17–38+45−24Lost 17–31 vs. Youngstown State-14Youngstown StateLost 10–34 at Cincinnati-24CincinnatiWon 35–17 vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech+18No. 13 Virginia TechWon 55–10 vs. Gardner-Webb+45Gardner-WebbLost 13–14 at Syracuse-1SyracuseLost 35–45 vs. No. 18 Louisville-10No. 18 LouisvilleWon 20–6 at Buffalo+14BuffaloWon 47–17 vs. Temple+30TempleLost 26–29 at No. 4 Notre Dame-3No. 4 Notre DameLost 17–24 at UConn-7UConnWon 27–6 vs. No. 21 Rutgers+21No. 21 RutgersWon 27–3 at South Florida+24South FloridaLost 17–38 vs. Ole Miss-21Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsYoungstown StateL 17–⁠3182%
Sep 6atCincinnatiL 10–⁠3429%
Sep 15vs13Virginia TechW 35–⁠1733%
Sep 22vsGardner-WebbW 55–⁠1090%
Oct 5atSyracuseL 13–⁠1452%
Oct 13vs18LouisvilleL 35–⁠4542%
Oct 20atBuffaloW 20–⁠665%
Oct 27vsTempleW 47–⁠1755%
Nov 3at4Notre DameL 26–⁠2916%
Nov 9atUConnL 17–⁠2456%
Nov 24vs21RutgersW 27–⁠636%
Dec 1atSouth FloridaW 27–⁠358%
Jan 5Bowls & playoffvsOle MissBBVA Compass BowlL 17–⁠3858%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 38–⁠17 in the BBVA Compass Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Big East.

In program history: The 74th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠4 5th in Big East
AP final
Unranked
Points
346–⁠274
Coach
Paul Chryst
Elo
1533 +6 this season
SP+ rating
5.7 No. 52 of 124; offense No. 68, defense No. 33, special teams No. 74
SRS
2.0 No. 59 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 43
Offensive coordinator
Joe Rudolph
Defensive coordinator
Dave Huxtable
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense22nd of 124
  • Defense24th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted12th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted28th of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1241%1.0222nd of 124
Defense0.0040%0.9524th of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.03 def		42% off
41% def		—12th off
28th 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
Offense-0.2own 321% allowed
Defense-0.2own 284% 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 yardsTino Sunseri QB3,288 yds
Passing touchdownsTino Sunseri QB21 TD
Rushing yardsRay Graham RB1,042 yds
Rushing touchdownsRay Graham RB11 TD
Receiving yardsMike Shanahan WR983 yds
Receiving touchdownsMike Shanahan WR6 TD
InterceptionsJason Hendricks DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Rushel Shell RB★★★★★No. 32
Chad Voytik PRO★★★★No. 211
Deaysean Rippy OLB★★★★No. 223
Adam Bisnowaty OT★★★★No. 325
J.P. Holtz TE★★★No. 397

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.920
Running backs15.00.985
Receivers43.00.846
Offensive line23.00.839
Defensive line33.00.850
Linebackers33.00.833
Defensive backs23.00.849
Athletes and specialists13.00.883
Whole class173.20.858

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.

Roster 99

The 2012 roster

99 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 26 have a stat line. See the roster

2012 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisville5–⁠211–⁠213
Cincinnati5–⁠210–⁠3
Rutgers5–⁠29–⁠4
Syracuse5–⁠28–⁠5
Pittsburgh3–⁠46–⁠7
UConn2–⁠55–⁠7
Temple2–⁠54–⁠7
South Florida1–⁠63–⁠9

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