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2022 Pittsburgh

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Pat Narduzzi, finished No. 22 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2022, game by game: won vs. West Virginia 38–31; lost vs. No. 24 Tennessee 27–34; won at Western Michigan 34–13; won vs. Rhode Island 45–24; lost vs. Georgia Tech 21–26; won vs. Virginia Tech 45–29; lost at Louisville 10–24; lost at No. 21 North Carolina 24–42; won vs. No. 22 Syracuse 19–9; won at Virginia 37–7; won vs. Duke 28–26; won at Miami 42–16; won vs. No. 18 UCLA 37–35+30−18Won 38–31 vs. West Virginia+7West VirginiaLost 27–34 vs. No. 24 Tennessee-7No. 24 TennesseeWon 34–13 at Western Michigan+21Western MichiganWon 45–24 vs. Rhode Island+21Rhode IslandLost 21–26 vs. Georgia Tech-5Georgia TechWon 45–29 vs. Virginia Tech+16Virginia TechLost 10–24 at Louisville-14LouisvilleLost 24–42 at No. 21 North Carolina-18No. 21 North CarolinaWon 19–9 vs. No. 22 Syracuse+10No. 22 SyracuseWon 37–7 at Virginia+30VirginiaWon 28–26 vs. Duke+2DukeWon 42–16 at Miami+26MiamiWon 37–35 vs. No. 18 UCLA+2No. 18 UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsWest VirginiaW 38–⁠3173%
Sep 10vs24TennesseeL 27–⁠3469%
Sep 17atWestern MichiganW 34–⁠1351%
Sep 24vsRhode IslandW 45–⁠2489%
Oct 1vsGeorgia TechL 21–⁠2685%
Oct 8vsVirginia TechW 45–⁠2979%
Oct 22atLouisvilleL 10–⁠2455%
Oct 29at21North CarolinaL 24–⁠4243%
Nov 5vs22SyracuseW 19–⁠962%
Nov 12atVirginiaW 37–⁠764%
Nov 19vsDukeW 28–⁠2669%
Nov 26atMiamiW 42–⁠1662%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs18UCLASun BowlW 37–⁠3552%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UCLA 37–⁠35 in the Sun Bowl; No. 22 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 23
  4. Wk 4: 24
  5. Wk 5: 24
  6. Final: 22

Led the nationIsrael Abanikanda: rushing touchdowns (20 TD)

Consensus All-AmericanCalijah Kancey, DL

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 22 peak No. 17
Points
407–⁠316
Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Elo
1645 +19 this season
SP+ rating
8.6 No. 40 of 131; offense No. 43, defense No. 49, special teams No. 46
SRS
6.3 No. 36 of 131 in FBS
Returning
29% of last season’s EPA, No. 110 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 76 roster talent No. 45 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Frank Cignetti Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Randy Bates
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense71st of 131
  • Defense9th of 131
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted69th of 131
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted10th of 131
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0943%1.2571st of 131
Defense-0.0337%1.339th of 131
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
-0.01 def		42% off
36% def		—69th off
10th 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
Offense3.8own 3116% allowed
Defense3.6own 2822% caused

CORE rating 13.4, 14th of 131 (offense 1.1, defense -12.3).

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 yardsKedon Slovis QB2,391 yds
Passing touchdownsKedon Slovis QB10 TD
Rushing yardsIsrael Abanikanda RB1,431 yds
Rushing touchdownsIsrael Abanikanda RB20 TD
Receiving yardsJared Wayne WR1,056 yds
Receiving touchdownsJared Wayne WR5 TD
TacklesSirVocea Dennis LB89 tkl
SacksCalijah Kancey DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsErick Hallett DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2022 class

Ryan Baer OT★★★★No. 356
Jimmy Scott DL★★★No. 464
Samuel Okunlola DL★★★No. 515
Ryland Gandy CB★★★No. 651
Che Nwabuko WR★★★No. 707

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

The 2022 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers23.00.865
Offensive line23.50.880
Defensive line33.00.877
Linebackers13.00.862
Defensive backs13.00.875
Athletes and specialists23.00.831
Whole class113.10.866

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 2023

The 2023 draft
Rd 1Calijah Kancey DTTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 4Carter Warren OTNew York Jets
Rd 5Israel Abanikanda RBNew York Jets
Rd 5SirVocea Dennis ILBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 6Erick Hallett II SJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 7Brandon Hill SHouston Texans

Roster 116

The 2022 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2022 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2022 portal
Kedon Slovis QB★★★★from USC
Konata Mumpfield WR★★★from Akron
Bub Means WR★★★from Louisiana Tech
Shayne Simon LB★★★from Notre Dame
Ryan Jacoby OT★★★from Ohio State
C’Bo Flemister RB★★★from Notre Dame
Dylan Deveney TE★★★from Georgia Tech

Transfers out 17

Jordan Addison WR★★★★★to USC
Cam Bright LB★★★to Washington
Todd Sibley Jr. RB★★★to UAlbany
Davis Beville QB★★★to Oklahoma
Michael Statham Jr. OT★★★no new school on file
A.J. Davis RB★★★to James Madison
Wendell Davis LB★★★to Northwestern
A.J. Roberts LB★★to Stony Brook
Joey Yellen QB★★★★to Hawai’i
Naquan Brown DE★★★★to Norfolk State
Emmanuel Belgrave DE★★★no new school on file
Hunter Sellers CB★★★to New Mexico

And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2022 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠011–⁠313
North Carolina6–⁠29–⁠5
Florida State5–⁠310–⁠311
Duke5–⁠39–⁠4
Pittsburgh5–⁠39–⁠422
NC State4–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠48–⁠5
Syracuse4–⁠47–⁠6
Georgia Tech4–⁠45–⁠7
Wake Forest3–⁠58–⁠5
Miami3–⁠55–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠63–⁠9
Virginia1–⁠63–⁠7
Virginia Tech1–⁠63–⁠8

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