CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Pittsburgh

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Pat Narduzzi.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2016, game by game: won vs. Villanova 28–7; won vs. Penn State 42–39; lost at Oklahoma State 38–45; lost at North Carolina 36–37; won vs. Marshall 43–27; won vs. Georgia Tech 37–34; won at Virginia 45–31; lost vs. No. 25 Virginia Tech 36–39; lost at Miami 28–51; won at No. 3 Clemson 43–42; won vs. Duke 56–14; won vs. Syracuse 76–61; lost vs. Northwestern 24–31+42−23Won 28–7 vs. Villanova+21VillanovaWon 42–39 vs. Penn State+3Penn StateLost 38–45 at Oklahoma State-7Oklahoma StateLost 36–37 at North Carolina-1North CarolinaWon 43–27 vs. Marshall+16MarshallWon 37–34 vs. Georgia Tech+3Georgia TechWon 45–31 at Virginia+14VirginiaLost 36–39 vs. No. 25 Virginia Tech-3No. 25 Virginia TechLost 28–51 at Miami-23MiamiWon 43–42 at No. 3 Clemson+1No. 3 ClemsonWon 56–14 vs. Duke+42DukeWon 76–61 vs. Syracuse+15SyracuseLost 24–31 vs. Northwestern-7Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsVillanovaW 28–⁠779%
Sep 10vsPenn StateW 42–⁠3960%
Sep 17atOklahoma StateL 38–⁠4541%
Sep 24atNorth CarolinaL 36–⁠3732%
Oct 1vsMarshallW 43–⁠2761%
Oct 8vsGeorgia TechW 37–⁠3466%
Oct 15atVirginiaW 45–⁠3155%
Oct 27vs25Virginia TechL 36–⁠3955%
Nov 5atMiamiL 28–⁠5145%
Nov 12at3ClemsonW 43–⁠4214%
Nov 19vsDukeW 56–⁠1471%
Nov 26vsSyracuseW 76–⁠6179%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsNorthwesternPinstripe BowlL 24–⁠3153%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 31–⁠24 in the Pinstripe Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 54th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 14: 24
  2. Wk 15: 22

Consensus All-AmericanQuadree Henderson, APB

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 22
Points
532–⁠458
Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Elo
1576 +36 this season
SP+ rating
13.1 No. 23 of 128; offense No. 4, defense No. 75, special teams No. 78
SRS
9.2 No. 27 of 128 in FBS
Returning
69% of last season’s EPA, No. 57 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 30 roster talent No. 35 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Matt Canada
Defensive coordinator
Josh Conklin
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense10th of 128
  • Defense103rd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted9th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted103rd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2746%1.4110th of 128
Defense0.2044%1.37103rd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.24 off
0.16 def		47% off
42% def		—9th off
103rd 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
Offense4.5own 3216% allowed
Defense3.9own 3216% caused

CORE rating 9.8, 26th of 128 (offense 13.4, defense 3.6).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsNathan Peterman QB2,855 yds
Passing touchdownsNathan Peterman QB27 TD
Rushing yardsJames Conner RB1,092 yds
Rushing touchdownsJames Conner RB16 TD
Receiving yardsJester Weah WR870 yds
Receiving touchdownsJester Weah WR10 TD
TacklesMatt Galambos LB85 tkl
SacksEjuan Price DL13 sacks
InterceptionsAvonte Maddox DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Damar Hamlin CB★★★★No. 152
George Hill ATH★★★★No. 154
Keyshon Camp DT★★★★No. 265
Amir Watts DT★★★No. 364
Aaron Mathews ATH★★★No. 419

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.879
Running backs13.00.849
Receivers13.00.879
Offensive line33.00.836
Defensive line73.10.856
Linebackers33.00.861
Defensive backs43.30.875
Athletes and specialists53.00.857
Whole class253.10.859

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 2017

The 2017 draft
Rd 3James Conner RBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Dorian Johnson OGArizona Cardinals
Rd 5Nathan Peterman QBBuffalo Bills
Rd 6Adam Bisnowaty OGNew York Giants
Rd 7Ejuan Price OLBLos Angeles Rams

Roster 104

The 2016 roster

104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 52 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson7–⁠114–⁠11
Louisville7–⁠19–⁠421
Virginia Tech6–⁠210–⁠416
Florida State5–⁠310–⁠38
Miami5–⁠39–⁠420
North Carolina5–⁠38–⁠5
Pittsburgh5–⁠38–⁠5
Georgia Tech4–⁠49–⁠4
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
NC State3–⁠57–⁠6
Boston College2–⁠67–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
Duke1–⁠74–⁠8
Virginia1–⁠72–⁠10

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