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2021 Pittsburgh

11–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Pat Narduzzi, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2021, game by game: won vs. Massachusetts 51–7; won at Tennessee 41–34; lost vs. Western Michigan 41–44; won vs. New Hampshire 77–7; won at Georgia Tech 52–21; won at Virginia Tech 28–7; won vs. Clemson 27–17; lost vs. Miami 34–38; won at Duke 54–29; won vs. North Carolina 30–23; won vs. Virginia 48–38; won at Syracuse 31–14; won vs. No. 18 Wake Forest 45–21; lost vs. No. 11 Michigan State 21–31+70−10Won 51–7 vs. Massachusetts+44MassachusettsWon 41–34 at Tennessee+7TennesseeLost 41–44 vs. Western Michigan-3Western MichiganWon 77–7 vs. New Hampshire+70New HampshireWon 52–21 at Georgia Tech+31Georgia TechWon 28–7 at Virginia Tech+21Virginia TechWon 27–17 vs. Clemson+10ClemsonLost 34–38 vs. Miami-4MiamiWon 54–29 at Duke+25DukeWon 30–23 vs. North Carolina+7North CarolinaWon 48–38 vs. Virginia+10VirginiaWon 31–14 at Syracuse+17SyracuseWon 45–21 vs. No. 18 Wake Forest+24No. 18 Wake ForestLost 21–31 vs. No. 11 Michigan State-10No. 11 Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsMassachusettsW 51–⁠783%
Sep 11atTennesseeW 41–⁠3453%
Sep 18vsWestern MichiganL 41–⁠4471%
Sep 25vsNew HampshireW 77–⁠780%
Oct 2atGeorgia TechW 52–⁠2154%
Oct 16atVirginia TechW 28–⁠752%
Oct 23vsClemsonW 27–⁠1752%
Oct 30vsMiamiL 34–⁠3877%
Nov 6atDukeW 54–⁠2975%
Nov 11vsNorth CarolinaW 30–⁠2371%
Nov 20vsVirginiaW 48–⁠3876%
Nov 27atSyracuseW 31–⁠1474%
Dec 4vs18Wake ForestACC Championship GameW 45–⁠2157%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs11Michigan StatePeach BowlL 21–⁠3163%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan State 31–⁠21 in the Peach Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 23
  2. Wk 9: 17
  3. Wk 11: 25
  4. Wk 12: 20
  5. Wk 13: 20
  6. Wk 14: 17
  7. Wk 15: 13
  8. Final: 13

Atlantic Coast Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the ACC Championship Game

Heisman voteKenny Pickett, third

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardKenny Pickett, QB

Biletnikoff AwardJordan Addison, WR

Consensus All-AmericanJordan Addison, WR

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 13
Points
580–⁠331
Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Elo
1688 +129 this season
SP+ rating
17.6 No. 9 of 130; offense No. 9, defense No. 29
SRS
14.4 No. 7 of 130 in FBS
Returning
85% of last season’s EPA, No. 40 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 26 roster talent No. 37 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mark Whipple
Defensive coordinator
Randy Bates
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense26th of 130
  • Defense18th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted39th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted16th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2346%1.2826th of 130
Defense0.0340%1.2318th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.04 def		45% off
40% def		—39th off
16th 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
Offense4.6own 3014% allowed
Defense3.7own 2720% caused

CORE rating 13.4, 20th of 130 (offense 3.5, defense -9.9).

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 QB4,319 yds
Passing touchdownsKenny Pickett QB42 TD
Rushing yardsIsrael Abanikanda RB651 yds
Rushing touchdownsIsrael Abanikanda RB7 TD
Receiving yardsJordan Addison WR1,593 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Addison WR17 TD
TacklesSirVocea Dennis LB82 tkl
SacksHabakkuk Baldonado DL9 sacks
InterceptionsErick Hallett DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Elliot Donald DL★★★★No. 119
Naquan Brown DE★★★★No. 233
Nahki Johnson DE★★★★No. 252
Dorien Ford DL★★★No. 467
Khalil Anderson CB★★★No. 506

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.856
Running backs13.00.873
Receivers43.00.852
Offensive line43.00.857
Defensive line43.80.913
Linebackers13.00.838
Defensive backs63.00.867
Athletes and specialists13.00.875
Whole class223.10.870

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 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 1Kenny Pickett QBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Damarri Mathis CBDenver Broncos

Roster 109

The 2021 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 69 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 4

The 2021 portal
Marcus Minor OT★★★from Maryland
D.J. Turner WR★★★from Maryland
M.J. Devonshire CB★★★from Kentucky
Melquise Stovall WR★★★from Hawai’i

Transfers out 6

Carson Van Lynn OT★★★to Duke
Liam Dick OT★★★to Texas State
Michael Smith WR★★★no new school on file
Paris Brown RB★★★no new school on file
Will Gipson WR★★★no new school on file
Brassir Stocker CBno new school on file

2021 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Pittsburgh7–⁠111–⁠313
Wake Forest7–⁠211–⁠315
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠314
NC State6–⁠29–⁠320
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠46–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Louisville4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠45–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠56–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠66–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Duke0–⁠83–⁠9

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