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2026 Pittsburgh

5–⁠2 (2–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Pat Narduzzi. The season’s Wikipedia article records 5–⁠1, over six games to the seven on file here.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2026, game by game: won vs. Miami (OH) 59–14; won vs. UCF 12–7; won vs. Syracuse 27–13; won vs. Bucknell 59–0; won at Virginia Tech 35–33; lost vs. North Carolina 17–21; lost at Boston College 21–27+59−6Won 59–14 vs. Miami (OH)+45Miami (OH)Won 12–7 vs. UCF+5UCFWon 27–13 vs. Syracuse+14SyracuseWon 59–0 vs. Bucknell+59BucknellWon 35–33 at Virginia Tech+2Virginia TechLost 17–21 vs. North Carolina-4North CarolinaLost 21–27 at Boston College-6Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsMiami (OH)W 59–⁠1463%
Sep 12vsUCFW 12–⁠770%
Sep 17vsSyracuseW 27–⁠1377%
Sep 26vsBucknellW 59–⁠093%
Oct 2atVirginia TechW 35–⁠3352%
Oct 10vsNorth CarolinaL 17–⁠2176%
Oct 17atBoston CollegeL 21–⁠2765%
Oct 24atMiamiPreview18%
Oct 31vsGeorgia TechPreview66%
Nov 13vsFlorida StatePreview66%
Nov 21atLouisvillePreview32%
Nov 28atCaliforniaPreview60%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 25
Record
5–⁠2
Conference
2–⁠2 tied for 7th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP now
No. 25 in the week 6 poll; peak No. 25
Points
230–⁠115
Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Elo
1556 +10 this season
SP+ rating
10.5 No. 34 of 138; offense No. 47, defense No. 26, special teams No. 29
SRS
10.3 No. 31 of 138 in FBS
Returning
40% of last season’s EPA, No. 67 of 136
Recruiting class
No. 44 roster talent No. 64 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kade Bell
Defensive coordinator
Cory Sanders
Offense
Hurry-up, no-huddle spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense81st of 138
  • Defense20th of 138
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted89th of 138
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted25th of 138
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0843%1.1481st of 138
Defense-0.0135%1.4520th of 138
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.03 def		40% off
37% def		—89th off
25th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense47%8.9 yds14%3.3013%
Defense39%8.3 yds16%1.9027%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.8own 3012% allowed
Defense2.7own 2718% caused

CORE rating 2.7, 51st of 138 (offense -4.4, defense -7.1).

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 yardsMason Heintschel QB1,304 yds
Passing touchdownsMason Heintschel QB14 TD
Rushing yardsDamon Ferguson Jr. RB438 yds
Rushing touchdownsLa’Vell Wright RB4 TD
Receiving yardsCataurus Hicks WR500 yds
Receiving touchdownsCataurus Hicks WR4 TD
TacklesCruce Brookins DB46 tkl
SacksNick James DL2.5 sacks
InterceptionsRaion Strader DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Damon Ferguson Jr. RB★★★★No. 203
Corey Dailey QB★★★★No. 417
Reston Lehman LB★★★★No. 457
Nick Howard OT★★★★No. 458
Isaiah Simmons LB★★★★No. 469
Rodney Dunbar WR★★★★No. 469

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

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.50.876
Running backs14.00.922
Receivers43.30.871
Offensive line33.30.866
Defensive line13.00.866
Linebackers53.40.882
Defensive backs43.00.875
Athletes and specialists13.00.878
Whole class213.30.877

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.

Roster 113

The 2026 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 16

The 2026 portal
Carson Kent TE★★★from Oklahoma
Raion Strader CB★★★from Auburn
Alex Sanford LB★★★from Purdue
Jeremiah Warren DL★★★from Illinois
Demarco Ward LB★★★from Memphis
Eliyt Nairne DL★★★from Tulane
Kanye Thompson CB★★★from Slippery Rock
Keylen Davis OL★★★from Akron
La’Vell Wright RB★★★from Western Kentucky
Elijah Lagg TE★★★from UAB
Holden Geriner QB★★★from Texas State
Malik Knight WR★★★from Western Carolina

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 21

Francis Brewu DL★★★★to Notre Dame
Rasheem Biles LB★★★★to Texas
Shawn Lee Jr. CB★★★★returned to Pittsburgh
Caleb Holmes OL★★★to Jacksonville State
Eli Holstein QB★★★to Virginia
Jahsear Whittington DL★★★to Nebraska
Juelz Goff RB★★★to Boise State
Kenny Johnson WR★★★to Texas Tech
Lyndon Cooper OL★★★to Vanderbilt
Malachi Thomas TE★★★to LSU
Jackson Brown OL★★★to UNLV
Jesse Anderson S★★★to Kentucky

And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami4–⁠06–⁠0
Wake Forest4–⁠16–⁠1
SMU3–⁠15–⁠1
North Carolina2–⁠14–⁠2
Clemson2–⁠14–⁠2
Louisville3–⁠24–⁠3
Virginia Tech2–⁠25–⁠2
Pittsburgh2–⁠25–⁠2
Virginia2–⁠24–⁠3
California2–⁠23–⁠4
Duke1–⁠24–⁠2
NC State1–⁠23–⁠3
Boston College1–⁠23–⁠3
Georgia Tech1–⁠22–⁠4
Florida State1–⁠33–⁠4
Stanford1–⁠33–⁠4
Syracuse0–⁠42–⁠4

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