CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Pittsburgh

7–⁠7 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Pat Narduzzi.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2018, game by game: won vs. UAlbany 33–7; lost vs. No. 13 Penn State 6–51; won vs. Georgia Tech 24–19; lost at North Carolina 35–38; lost at No. 13 UCF 14–45; won vs. Syracuse 44–37; lost at No. 5 Notre Dame 14–19; won vs. Duke 54–45; won at No. 23 Virginia 23–13; won vs. Virginia Tech 52–22; won at Wake Forest 34–13; lost at Miami 3–24; lost vs. No. 2 Clemson 10–42; lost vs. Stanford 13–14+30−45Won 33–7 vs. UAlbany+26UAlbanyLost 6–51 vs. No. 13 Penn State-45No. 13 Penn StateWon 24–19 vs. Georgia Tech+5Georgia TechLost 35–38 at North Carolina-3North CarolinaLost 14–45 at No. 13 UCF-31No. 13 UCFWon 44–37 vs. Syracuse+7SyracuseLost 14–19 at No. 5 Notre Dame-5No. 5 Notre DameWon 54–45 vs. Duke+9DukeWon 23–13 at No. 23 Virginia+10No. 23 VirginiaWon 52–22 vs. Virginia Tech+30Virginia TechWon 34–13 at Wake Forest+21Wake ForestLost 3–24 at Miami-21MiamiLost 10–42 vs. No. 2 Clemson-32No. 2 ClemsonLost 13–14 vs. Stanford-1Stanford
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsUAlbanyW 33–⁠784%
Sep 8vs13Penn StateL 6–⁠5136%
Sep 15vsGeorgia TechW 24–⁠1955%
Sep 22atNorth CarolinaL 35–⁠3855%
Sep 29at13UCFL 14–⁠4520%
Oct 6vsSyracuseW 44–⁠3753%
Oct 13at5Notre DameL 14–⁠1916%
Oct 27vsDukeW 54–⁠4547%
Nov 2at23VirginiaW 23–⁠1336%
Nov 10vsVirginia TechW 52–⁠2262%
Nov 17atWake ForestW 34–⁠1353%
Nov 24atMiamiL 3–⁠2444%
Dec 1vs2ClemsonACC Championship GameL 10–⁠4218%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsStanfordSun BowlL 13–⁠1440%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Stanford 14–⁠13 in the Sun Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 53rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 13: 24

ACC Coastal champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
7–⁠7
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 24
Points
359–⁠389
Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Elo
1578 +53 this season
SP+ rating
2.7 No. 61 of 130; offense No. 71, defense No. 53, special teams No. 54
SRS
5.1 No. 45 of 130 in FBS
Returning
51% of last season’s EPA, No. 91 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 47 roster talent No. 38 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Shawn Watson
Defensive coordinator
Randy Bates
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense57th of 130
  • Defense63rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted49th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1140%1.3057th of 130
Defense0.1043%1.2263rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.07 def		42% off
41% def		—42nd off
49th 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
Offense3.4own 2716% allowed
Defense3.5own 3018% caused

CORE rating 4.2, 38th of 130 (offense 2.5, defense -1.7).

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 yardsKenny Pickett QB1,969 yds
Passing touchdownsKenny Pickett QB12 TD
Rushing yardsQadree Ollison RB1,213 yds
Rushing touchdownsQadree Ollison RB11 TD
Receiving yardsTaysir Mack WR557 yds
Receiving touchdownsMaurice Ffrench WR6 TD
TacklesDamar Hamlin DB85 tkl
SacksRashad Weaver DL5.5 sacks
InterceptionsDamar Hamlin DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Mychale Salahuddin APB★★★★No. 214
Blake Zubovic OT★★★No. 491
Shocky Jacques-Louis WR★★★No. 531
Devin Danielson DT★★★No. 687
Jake Kradel OG★★★No. 682

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.863
Running backs14.00.918
Receivers23.00.861
Offensive line23.00.874
Defensive line73.00.857
Linebackers13.00.854
Defensive backs43.00.853
Whole class183.10.862

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 2019

The 2019 draft
Rd 5Qadree Ollison RBAtlanta Falcons

Roster 95

The 2018 roster

95 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠015–⁠01
Syracuse6–⁠210–⁠315
Pittsburgh6–⁠27–⁠7
NC State5–⁠39–⁠4
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Duke3–⁠58–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠55–⁠7
North Carolina1–⁠72–⁠9
Louisville0–⁠82–⁠10

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