CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Pittsburgh

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Pat Narduzzi.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2017, game by game: won vs. Youngstown State 28–21; lost at No. 4 Penn State 14–33; lost vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State 21–59; lost at Georgia Tech 17–35; won vs. Rice 42–10; lost at Syracuse 24–27; lost vs. No. 20 NC State 17–35; won at Duke 24–17; won vs. Virginia 31–14; lost vs. North Carolina 31–34; lost at Virginia Tech 14–20; won vs. No. 2 Miami 24–14+32−38Won 28–21 vs. Youngstown State+7Youngstown StateLost 14–33 at No. 4 Penn State-19No. 4 Penn StateLost 21–59 vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State-38No. 9 Oklahoma StateLost 17–35 at Georgia Tech-18Georgia TechWon 42–10 vs. Rice+32RiceLost 24–27 at Syracuse-3SyracuseLost 17–35 vs. No. 20 NC State-18No. 20 NC StateWon 24–17 at Duke+7DukeWon 31–14 vs. Virginia+17VirginiaLost 31–34 vs. North Carolina-3North CarolinaLost 14–20 at Virginia Tech-6Virginia TechWon 24–14 vs. No. 2 Miami+10No. 2 Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsYoungstown StateW 28–⁠2172%
Sep 9at4Penn StateL 14–⁠3331%
Sep 16vs9Oklahoma StateL 21–⁠5939%
Sep 23atGeorgia TechL 17–⁠3534%
Sep 30vsRiceW 42–⁠1073%
Oct 7atSyracuseL 24–⁠2753%
Oct 14vs20NC StateL 17–⁠3542%
Oct 21atDukeW 24–⁠1739%
Oct 28vsVirginiaW 31–⁠1462%
Nov 9vsNorth CarolinaL 31–⁠3468%
Nov 18atVirginia TechL 14–⁠2025%
Nov 24vs2MiamiW 24–⁠1422%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami 24–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 73rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
287–⁠319
Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Elo
1537 −14 this season
SP+ rating
6.0 No. 47 of 128; offense No. 48, defense No. 48, special teams No. 80
SRS
4.0 No. 49 of 130 in FBS
Returning
38% of last season’s EPA, No. 103 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 37 roster talent No. 34 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Shawn Watson
Defensive coordinator
Josh Conklin
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense79th of 130
  • Defense68th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted57th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted69th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0744%1.1379th of 130
Defense0.1041%1.2768th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.09 def		46% off
40% def		—57th off
69th 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
Offense3.6own 2818% allowed
Defense3.4own 3016% caused

CORE rating 2.2, 55th of 130 (offense 0.5, defense -1.6).

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 yardsBen Dinucci QB1,091 yds
Passing touchdownsBen Dinucci QB5 TD
Rushing yardsDarrin Hall RB628 yds
Rushing touchdownsDarrin Hall RB9 TD
Receiving yardsJester Weah WR698 yds
Receiving touchdownsJester Weah WR4 TD
TacklesOluwaseun Idowu LB93 tkl
SacksOluwaseun Idowu LB5 sacks
InterceptionsAvonte Maddox DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Paris Ford S★★★★No. 52
Todd Sibley RB★★★★No. 285
Charles Reeves TE★★★★No. 291
A.J. Davis RB★★★★No. 320
Carter Warren OT★★★No. 450

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.857
Running backs24.00.897
Receivers63.20.848
Offensive line43.00.852
Defensive line33.00.851
Linebackers23.00.838
Defensive backs43.30.879
Athletes and specialists22.00.777
Whole class243.10.852

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 2Brian O’Neill OTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 4Jordan Whitehead STampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 4Avonte Maddox CBPhiladelphia Eagles

Roster 94

The 2017 roster

94 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson7–⁠112–⁠24
Miami7–⁠110–⁠313
NC State6–⁠29–⁠423
Virginia Tech5–⁠39–⁠424
Wake Forest4–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Georgia Tech4–⁠45–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠57–⁠6
Duke3–⁠57–⁠6
Virginia3–⁠56–⁠7
Pittsburgh3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
North Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9

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