2023 Pittsburgh Football Predictions and Season Preview

Pittsburgh finished the 2022 season with a solid 9-4 record. Pitt’s only losses were to the Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Louisville and North Carolina. In other words, the Panthers beat everyone they were supposed to beat and only had slip ups against Georgia Tech and Louisville.

DraftKings Sportsbook has the Panthers’ win total at 7.0, juiced to the over at -120. They’re also +2000 to win the ACC, which ranks behind Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina and Miami. Let’s dive into Pittsburgh’s college football season preview.

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2023 Pittsburgh Football Predictions & Season Preview

Pittsburgh Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff

Pat Narduzzi has only turned in one losing season in his tenure at Pittsburgh, which began in 2015. He has a 62-41 career record, and Narduzzi will look to keep that success rolling in 2023. He retains Frank Cignetti as offensive coordinator after coming to Pitt in 2022. Cignetti previously coordinated Boston College’s offense from 2020-2021. Randy Bates has coordinated the defense since 2018 with plenty of success, which he will look to repeat this year.

Pittsburgh Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense

Quarterback

After a year of Kedon Slovis in Pittsburgh, the Panthers again turned to the transfer portal with Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec. Jurkovec played in eight games last year, completing 247 or his 247 passes (59.5%) for 1,711 yards (6.9 yards per attempt). He threw eleven touchdowns and eight interceptions. Jurkovec possesses solid mobility despite having -43 rushing yards last year. He played behind an atrocious offensive line at Boston College that gave up 24 sacks. Two years ago Jurkovec ran for 322 yards on the ground. In a better all-around situation with Pittsburgh, Jurkovec’s passing and rushing numbers should be expected to return to his average.

Pittsburgh also added Penn State Christian Veilleux in the portal. Veilleux has just 35 career pass attempts, but he originally came to Penn State as a top 500 recruit in his class. Veilleux doesn’t appear to have much mobility, but he should serve as a quality backup for Jurkovec this season and he has the potential to start in 2024.

Running Back

Pittsburgh loses their top rusher Israel Abanikanda to the NFL after he put up 1,431 rushing yards last year. They do return their second leading rusher, Rodney Hammond Jr. who had 109 carries for 460 yards and five scores in 2022. Hammond stands 5-9, 200 pounds and originally began the year as the starter before an injury opened the door for Abanikanda. He only caught six passes, but averaged 2.61 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 22.9% of his attempts.

C’Bo Flemister returns behind Hammond. Flemister logged forty carries for 221 yards last year. He stands at 5-11, 200 pounds and has never quite carved out a role in his five year career at Pittsburgh. Flemister averages 3.1 yards after contact per attempt while forcing a missed tackle on 27.3% of his attempts throughout his career. Pitt also added LSU transfer Derrick Davis Jr., who carried 11 times for 57 yards. LSU rotated Davis between defensive back and running back, so he will hope to find a permanent position here. Finally, Daniel Carter returns after posting 16 carries for 51 yards, giving Pittsburgh solid running back depth.

Wide Receiver

Pittsburgh is losing their top pass catcher for the second straight season. Jared Wayne leaves behind 60 receptions and 1,063 yards. With that said, their second and third leading receiver Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means return to the program. Mumpfield stands 6-1, 180 pounds and caught 58 balls for 551 yards and one score last year. He played outside 54% of the time and his 1.63 yards per route ranked 30th in the ACC last year. Means stands 6-2, 215 pounds and caught 27 balls for 401 yards and two scores last year. He played in the slot 56.8% of the time and his 1.43 yards per route ranked 40th in the ACC.

Florida transfer Daejon Reynolds should slot in as Pittsburgh’s WR3. Reynolds stands 6-2, 204 pounds and caught 11 balls for 244 yards and two scores in 2022. He originally came to Florida as a four-star recruit in the 2021 cycle. From there, transfers have left the Pittsburgh wide receiver room barren. Addison Copeland, Peter Vardzel and Jake McConnachie should function as the direct backups. None of these players received more than 13 snaps last year, which leaves a very inexperienced group in the two deep. Pittsburgh shouldn’t take a massive step back here as long as they can keep their starters healthy.

Tight End

Pittsburgh returns both Gavin Bartholomew and Karter Johnson, giving them elite experience at tight end. Last year, Bartholomew played 688 snaps and blocked on 56% his snaps. The 6-5, 255 pound tight end caught 21 balls for 283 yards and a pair of scores last year as well. This equated to an average 0.99 yards per route. Karter Johnson played 353 snaps and blocked on 73% of his snaps. At 6-2, 250 pounds, Johnson only caught six passes, but he stood out as a blocker. Overall, this leaves Pittsburgh in a solid position at TE.

Offensive Line

Pittsburgh lost left guard Marcus Minor, swing tackle Gabe Houy and rotational piece Carter Warren along their offensive line. But that means they return most of their starting group. Center Jake Kradel returns after 874 snaps last year. He already has four years of starting experience to his name. Tackle Matt Goncalves returns after 830 snaps last year. He has two years of starting experience and started on both sides of the offensive line last year. The other tackle should be Brandon Taylor, who mostly played on the left side last year. He logged 419 snaps in his first year as a starter. At right guard Blake Zubovic returns after 663 snaps. He has at least 459 snaps over the last two years with Pitt. The left guard position looks like Ryan Jacoby, who filled in for 204 snaps last year. Overall, this unit doesn’t have as much depth, but it should still be a strength ahead of the 2023 season.

Pitt added Cal transfer Jackson Brown to bolster their lacking depth. Brown only played 15 snaps last year, but he is a former high three-star recruit. Other players like former four-star Ryan Baer could be asked to make a jump. Baer previously came to Pitt as a 2022 four-star recruit. Whether these jumps can be made remains to be seen.

Pittsburgh Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense

Pittsburgh ranked ninth on defense in 2022. The ranking included the 15th-ranked run defense, 22nd-ranked pass rush and fifth-ranked secondary. Their defense will look a little different this year with multiple starters in the front seven departing. However, Pittsburgh returns most of their secondary and added a safety transfer to ease their losses.

Defensive Line

On the edge, the Panthers lost Calijah Kancey, John Morgan III, Kabakkuk Baldonado, and Deslin Alexandre. This leaves the position depleted in terms of starting experience. The two players most likely to make the jump are Dayon Hayes and Bam Brima. The pair played 237 and 154 snaps last year. Hayes played particularly well in his small sample, which included 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. The team also retains the services of former 2021 four-star recruit Nahki Johnson. With Hayes coming in as a former four-star recruit, it looks like Pittsburgh will lean on their highly recruited depth off the edge.

Pittsburgh retains the services of David Green and Devin Danielson on the interior, who played 410 and 305 snaps a piece. Both stood out in terms of run defense. Green finished with 22 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. Danielson came in with 17 tackles and two tackles for loss. The defensive tackle position should also be a little deeper with rotational players Tyler Bentley and Deandre Jules back after 247 and 144 snaps. Ultimately, Pittsburgh doesn’t have the same proven talent on their defensive line, but his program has a long history of developing their players into elite defenders.

Linebacker

Pitt lost SirVocea Denis and Tyler Wiltz, but they have a pair of solid returning linebackers in Shayne Simon and Brandon George. Simon played 588 snaps last year and finished with 456 tackles. He also excelled in pass coverage, breaking up six passes throughout the season. George only played in four games due to injury, but he logged 85 snaps in that span. That’s a small sample size, but he did put up solid numbers. If George can’t replicate that play over a larger sample, the Panthers also return 258 snaps from Solomon DeShields. DeShields finished with 19 tackles, five tackles for loss, and four sacks in his specialized role. While Denis will be tough to replace, Pittsburgh does have some solid in-house options.

Defensive Back

At corner, Pittsburgh lost Erick Hallett II, but they return most of their starting production. MJ Devonshire returns after 674 snaps last year. He broke up eight passes and logged three interceptions. He should lead a veteran secondary here. From there, Marquis Williams and Bangally Kamara return 476 and 640 snaps. Williams projects to play opposite Devonshire after breaking up one pass, logging two interceptions and notching 24 tackles last year. Williams doesn’t have the same impressive pass defense numbers, but he wasn’t targeted as frequently in the pass game. Kamara plays a hybrid linebacker/nickel defender position. Kamara broke up seven passes, grabbed one interception and made 49 tackles in his 640 snaps last season. Beyond these three, Pittsburgh also returns AJ Woods, who played 478 snaps last year and led the team with 13 pass breakups. This unit has the chance to be one of the best corner groups in the ACC.

Pittsburgh lost safety Brandon Hill, but they return Javon McIntrye, who played 190 snaps last year. McIntyre did breakup three passes and grabbed two interceptions last year. They also added Florida transfer Donovan McMillon, who played 109 snaps for the Gators over the last two seasons. McMillon originally came to Florida as a four-star recruit in 2021 and should now have a better path to playing time. Theri safety position will be a little weaker than corner, but Pittsburgh should be set up well for 2023.

2023 Pittsburgh Football Schedule & Predictions

Pittsburgh Football 2023 Schedule

The Panthers play a non-conference schedule consisting of Wofford, Cincinnati, West Virginia and Notre Dame. They should be slight favorites against Cincinnati and West Virginia, but they will be a clear underdog to Notre Dame. Within ACC play, Pittsburgh draws Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina from the top of the conference. Luckily, they dodge Clemson, but this is still a pretty difficult schedule.

Pittsburgh Football Futures Bet & Prediction

Pittsburgh’s Over/Under 7.0 wins comes in juiced to the over at -120. It’s a fair a fair price. Pittsburgh should be an underdog to North Carolina, Louisville, Notre Dame and Florida State, giving them very little wiggle room to hit the number. However, there is decent push equity in this line if Pittsburgh can play to their potential. Over 7.0 wins will be the play, but the confidence interval remains low.

Best Pittsburgh Football Futures Bet: Over 7.0 Wins (-120 at DraftKings)

You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!

2023 Pittsburgh Football Predictions and Season Preview

2023 Pittsburgh Football Predictions & Season Preview

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