CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Pittsburgh

3–⁠9 (2–⁠6 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Pat Narduzzi.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2023, game by game: won vs. Wofford 45–7; lost vs. Cincinnati 21–27; lost at West Virginia 6–17; lost vs. No. 17 North Carolina 24–41; lost at Virginia Tech 21–38; won vs. No. 14 Louisville 38–21; lost at Wake Forest 17–21; lost at No. 14 Notre Dame 7–58; lost vs. No. 4 Florida State 7–24; lost vs. Syracuse 13–28; won vs. Boston College 24–16; lost at Duke 19–30+38−51Won 45–7 vs. Wofford+38WoffordLost 21–27 vs. Cincinnati-6CincinnatiLost 6–17 at West Virginia-11West VirginiaLost 24–41 vs. No. 17 North Carolina-17No. 17 North CarolinaLost 21–38 at Virginia Tech-17Virginia TechWon 38–21 vs. No. 14 Louisville+17No. 14 LouisvilleLost 17–21 at Wake Forest-4Wake ForestLost 7–58 at No. 14 Notre Dame-51No. 14 Notre DameLost 7–24 vs. No. 4 Florida State-17No. 4 Florida StateLost 13–28 vs. Syracuse-15SyracuseWon 24–16 vs. Boston College+8Boston CollegeLost 19–30 at Duke-11Duke
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsWoffordW 45–⁠792%
Sep 9vsCincinnatiL 21–⁠2755%
Sep 16atWest VirginiaL 6–⁠1755%
Sep 23vs17North CarolinaL 24–⁠4150%
Sep 30atVirginia TechL 21–⁠3859%
Oct 14vs14LouisvilleW 38–⁠2133%
Oct 21atWake ForestL 17–⁠2145%
Oct 28at14Notre DameL 7–⁠5820%
Nov 4vs4Florida StateL 7–⁠2426%
Nov 11vsSyracuseL 13–⁠2855%
Nov 16vsBoston CollegeW 24–⁠1658%
Nov 25atDukeL 19–⁠3031%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Duke 30–⁠19; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 105th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 11th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
242–⁠328
Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Elo
1459 −137 this season
SP+ rating
-7.3 No. 90 of 133; offense No. 108, defense No. 58, special teams No. 86
SRS
−3.5 No. 80 of 133 in FBS
Returning
32% of last season’s EPA, No. 107 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 51 roster talent No. 39 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Frank Cignetti Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Randy Bates
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense129th of 133
  • Defense39th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted124th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted28th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0836%1.32129th of 133
Defense0.0640%1.3239th of 133
Opponent-adjusted-0.02 off
0.05 def		38% off
39% def		—124th off
28th 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
Offense3.5own 2719% allowed
Defense3.4own 3118% caused

CORE rating -3.0, 78th of 133 (offense -10.2, defense -7.2).

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 yardsChristian Veilleux QB1,179 yds
Passing touchdownsChristian Veilleux QB7 TD
Rushing yardsRodney Hammond Jr. RB547 yds
Rushing touchdownsRodney Hammond Jr. RB4 TD
Receiving yardsJerrod Means WR721 yds
Receiving touchdownsJerrod Means WR6 TD
TacklesDonovan McMillon DB105 tkl
SacksSamuel Okunlola DL5 sacks
InterceptionsM.J. Devonshire DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Jordan Bass LB★★★★No. 199
Isaiah Neal DL★★★No. 521
Shadarian Harrison CB★★★No. 734
Kenny Johnson WR★★★No. 734
Antonio Camon DE★★★No. 797

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.843
Running backs13.00.870
Receivers33.00.866
Offensive line33.00.857
Defensive line33.00.867
Linebackers23.50.895
Defensive backs23.00.870
Athletes and specialists43.00.862
Whole class193.10.867

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 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 3Matt Goncalves OTIndianapolis Colts
Rd 5Bub Means WRNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7M.J. Devonshire CBLas Vegas Raiders

Roster 117

The 2023 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2023 portal
Donovan McMillon S★★★★from Florida
Derrick Davis Jr. RB★★★from LSU
Christian Veilleux QB★★★from Penn State
Jackson Brown OT★★★from California
Phil Jurkovec QB★★★from Boston College
Malcolm Epps TE★★★from USC
Daejon Reynolds WR★★★★from Florida

Transfers out 13

Kedon Slovis QB★★★to BYU
John Morgan DE★★★to Arkansas
Ak’Bar Shabazz II CB★★no new school on file
Jaden Bradley WR★★★to Charlotte
Jaylon Barden ATH★★★to Georgia Southern
Judson Tallandier CB★★★no new school on file
Khalil Anderson ATH★★★no new school on file
Kyi Wright TE★★★to James Madison
Myles Alston WR★★★no new school on file
Sam Vander Haar P★★★no new school on file
Sam Williams DE★★★no new school on file
Vincent Davis RB★★★to UNLV

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠013–⁠16
Louisville7–⁠110–⁠419
NC State6–⁠29–⁠421
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠49–⁠420
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Duke4–⁠48–⁠5
Miami3–⁠57–⁠6
Boston College3–⁠57–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠66–⁠7
Pittsburgh2–⁠63–⁠9
Virginia2–⁠63–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠74–⁠8

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