2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by fourth-year head coach Pat Narduzzi and played their home games at Heinz Field. They were a member of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). This was Pitt's sixth season as a member of the ACC.

2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football
ACC Coastal Division champion
Sun Bowl, L 13–14 vs. Stanford
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal Division
2018 record7–7 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorShawn Watson (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorRandy Bates (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumHeinz Field
(Capacity: 68,400)
2018 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson x$#^  8 0     15 0  
No. 15 Syracuse  6 2     10 3  
NC State  5 3     9 4  
Boston College  4 4     7 5  
Wake Forest  3 5     7 6  
Florida State  3 5     5 7  
Louisville  0 8     2 10  
Coastal Division
Pittsburgh x  6 2     7 7  
Georgia Tech  5 3     7 6  
Miami  4 4     7 6  
Virginia  4 4     8 5  
Virginia Tech  4 4     6 7  
Duke  3 5     8 5  
North Carolina  1 7     2 9  
Championship: Clemson 42, Pittsburgh 10
    1. College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ College Football Playoff participant
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2017 season 5–7, 3–5 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Coastal Division.[1]

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
Doak Walker Award[2] Darrin Hall RB SR
Butkus Award[3] Oluwaseun Idowu LB RS SR[4]
Wuerffel Trophy[5] Darrin Hall RB SR

ACC media poll

The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018 with the Panthers predicted to finish in fifth place in the Coastal Division.

Media poll (Coastal)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Miami998 (122)
2Virginia Tech838 (16)
3Georgia Tech654 (8)
4Duke607 (1)
5Pittsburgh420
6North Carolina370 (1)
7Virginia257

Schedule

The Panthers schedule was released on January 17, 2018.[6]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 13:30 p.m.Albany*ACCN ExtraW 33–734,486
September 88:00 p.m.No. 13 Penn State*
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ABCL 6–5168,400
September 1512:30 p.m.Georgia Tech
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
ACCRSNW 24–1934,284
September 2212:20 p.m.at North CarolinaRaycomL 35–3844,168
September 293:30 p.m.at No. 13 UCF*ESPNUL 14–4544,904
October 612:20 p.m.Syracuse
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
RaycomW 44–37 OT37,100
October 132:30 p.m.at No. 5 Notre Dame*NBCL 14–1977,622
October 273:30 p.m.Duke
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
ACCRSNW 54–4531,510
November 27:30 p.m.at No. 23 VirginiaESPN2W 23–1336,256
November 103:30 p.m.Virginia Tech
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
ESPNUW 52–2244,398
November 1712:00 p.m.at Wake ForestACCRSNW 34–1325,609
November 243:30 p.m.at Miami (FL)No. 24ESPNL 3–2459,606
December 18:00 p.m.vs. No. 2 ClemsonABCL 10–4267,784
December 312:00 p.m.vs. Stanford*CBSL 13–1440,680
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

The Cathedral of Learning, which usually lights up after every Pitt sports win, was darkened following Pitt's 54-45 victory over Duke on October 27 out of respect for the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in nearby Squirrel Hill, which had occurred earlier that day.

Coaching staff

2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
Coaching Staff
  • Pat Narduzzi – Head Coach
  • Charlie Partridge – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line
  • Shawn Watson – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
  • Randy Bates – Defensive Coordinator
  • Andre Powell – Running Backs/Special Teams
  • Rob Harley – Linebackers/Recruiting Coordinator
  • Dave Borbely – Offensive Line
  • Archie Collins – Secondary
  • Tim Salem – Tight Ends
  • Cory Sanders – Safeties
  • Kevin Sherman – Wide Receivers
  Support Staff
  • Chris LaSala – Associate Athletic Director/Football Operations
  • Bob Junko – Director of Player Development and High School Relations
  • Ben Mathers – Director of Football Operations
  • Reed Case – Director of Recruiting
  • Ben Cotton – Offensive Graduate Assistant
  • Mike Caprara – Defensive Graduate Assistant
  • Mike Perish – Offensive Graduate Assistant
  • Josh Lott – Defensive Graduate Assistant
  Strength and Conditioning Staff
  • Dave Andrews – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
  • Freddie Walker – Associate Strength and Conditioning Coach
  • Austin Addington-Strapp – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach

[7]

Roster

2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football roster

Quarterbacks

  •  3 Jeff George Jr. – Junior (6'3, 220)
  •  4 Nick Patti – Freshman (6'1, 185)
  •  8 Kenny PickettSophomore (6'2, 220)
  • 12 Ricky Town – Junior (6'3, 215)
  • 14 Tyler Zelinski – Sophomore (6'4, 210)
  • 15 Justin Sliwoski – Freshman (6'1, 190)
  • 16 Jake Cortes – Freshman (6'5, 240)

Tailbacks

  • 7 Mychale Salahuddin – Freshman (5'11, 190)
  • 21 A.J. Davis – Sophomore (6'0, 215)
  • 22 Darrin Hall – Senior (5'11, 225)
  • 26 Todd Sibley Jr. – Freshman (5'9, 215)
  • 30 Qadree Ollison Senior (6'2, 225)
  • 37 Cole Blake – Senior (5'11, 210)
  • 39 Kyle Vreen – Sophomore (5'10, 190)

Fullbacks

  • 34 Jason Edwards – Freshman (5'10, 230)
  • 35 George Aston – Senior (6'0, 240)
  • 47 Ryan Sliwoski – Junior (5'11, 225)
  • 48 Peyton Deri – Sophomore (6'1, 225)

Wide Receivers

  •  2 Maurice Ffrench – Junior (5'11, 190)
  •  5 Tre Tipton – Junior (6'0, 190)
  •  6 Aaron Mathews – Junior (6'4, 215)
  •  9 Michael Smith – Freshman (6'1, 215)
  • 11 Taysir Mack – Sophomore (6'2, 195)
  • 17 Darian Street – Freshman (6'1, 185)
  • 18 Shocky Jacques−Louis – Freshman (6'0, 180)
  • 19 V'Lique Carter – Freshman (5’9, 170)
  • 40 Charles Chustckie – Freshman (6'2, 190)
  • 46 Michael Vardzel – Sophomore (5'11, 190)
  • 48 Kellen McAlone – Senior (6'2, 210)
  • 49 Alex Capstick – Freshman (6'1, 205)
  • 80 Cameron O'Neil – Freshman (6'1, 185)
  • 82 Rafael Araujo-Lopes Senior (5'9, 190)
  • 83 John Vardzel – Freshman (5'10, 175)
  • 85 Garrett Bickhart – Freshman (6'5, 210)
  • 88 Dontavius Butler−Jenkins – Freshman (6'0, 210)

Tight Ends

  • 10 Will Gragg – Junior (6'4, 250)
  • 19 Jake Zilinskas – Sophomore (6'2, 230)
  • 81 Jim Medure – Junior (6'2, 235)
  • 84 Grant Carrigan – Freshman (6'7, 280)
  • 86 Tyler Sear – Sophomore (6'4, 250)
  • 98 Kaymar Mimes – Freshman (6'5, 235)
 

Offensive Linemen

  • 52 Devon Davis – Junior (6’4, 325)
  • 53 Jake Kradel – Freshman (6'3, 290)
  • 55 Chase Brown – Junior (6’5, 305)
  • 56 Brandon Ford – Sophomore (6’5, 305)
  • 57 Gabe Houy – Freshman (6'6, 310)
  • 59 Carson Van Lynn – Freshman (6’5, 290)
  • 60 Owen Drexel – Freshman (6'3, 290)
  • 63 Nick Stazer – Freshman (6’3, 295)
  • 66 Mike Herndon – Senior (6’4, 310)
  • 67 Jimmy Morrissey – Sophomore (6’3, 300)
  • 68 Blake Zubovic – Freshman (6’4, 300)
  • 69 Kenny Rainey III – Freshman (6'3, 320)
  • 70 Stefano Millin – Senior (6’5, 300)
  • 71 Bryce Hargrove – Sophomore (6’4, 310)
  • 74 Jerry Drake Jr. – Freshman (6’5, 305)
  • 76 Connor Dintino – Senior (6’3, 315)
  • 77 Carter Warren – Freshman (6'5, 320)
  • 78 Alex Bookser – Senior (6’6, 315)

Defensive Linemen

  •  2 David Green – Freshman (6'0, 255)
  •  5 Deslin Alexandre – Freshman (6'4, 270)
  •  6 John Morgan – Freshman (6'2, 250)
  •  8 Dewayne Hendrix Senior (6’4, 265)
  • 10 Keyshon Camp – Sophomore (6’4, 285)
  • 17 Rashad Weaver Sophomore (6’5, 260)
  • 34 Amir Watts – Junior (6’3, 290)
  • 36 Chase Pine – Sophomore (6’2, 250)
  • 40 James Folston Jr. – Senior (6’4, 250)
  • 45 Noah Palmer – Freshman (6'3, 215)
  • 50 Tyler Bentley – Freshman (6'2, 300)
  • 55 Jaylen Twyman Freshman (6'2, 300)
  • 68 Brian Burgess – Freshman (6’2, 290)
  • 87 Habakkuk Baldonado – Freshman (6’5, 230)
  • 90 Rashad Wheeler – Sophomore (6’3, 285)
  • 91 Patrick Jones II Sophomore (6’5, 265)
  • 93 Shane Roy – Senior (6’4, 280)
  • 95 Devin Danielson – Freshman (6'1, 290)
  • 96 Chris Maloney – Freshman (6’2, 235)

Punters

  • 97 Ethan Van Buskirk – Freshman (5'10, 220)
  • 98 Kirk Christodoulou – Freshman (6'1, 210)
 

Linebackers

  • 9 Saleem Brightwell – Junior (6’0, 225)
  • 23 Oluwaseun Idowu – Senior (6’0, 230)
  • 25 Elijah Zeise – Senior (6’2, 240)
  • 28 Anthony McKee Jr. – Junior (6’2, 220)
  • 29 Albert Tucker – Freshman (6'1, 225)
  • 35 Chase Villani – Freshman (6’1, 220)
  • 37 Jackson Henry – Freshman (6’2, 225)
  • 38 Cam Bright – Freshman (6'0, 220)
  • 39 Wendell Davis – Freshman (6’2, 235)
  • 44 Elias Reynolds – Sophomore (6’2, 235)
  • 47 Kyle Nunn – Freshman (6'3, 225)
  • 52 Jack Hansberry – Freshman (6’1, 210)
  • 58 Quintin Wirginis – Senior (6'2, 250)

Defensive Backs

  •  3 Damar Hamlin – Junior (6’1, 195)
  •  4 Therran Coleman – Sophomore (6’0, 200)
  •  7 Jazzee Stocker – Junior (6’2, 190)
  • 11 Dane Jackson Junior (6’0, 185)
  • 12 Paris Ford Freshman (6'0, 195)
  • 14 Marquis Williams – Freshman (5’8, 160)
  • 15 Jason Pinnock – Sophomore (6'0, 195)
  • 16 Damarri Mathis – Sophomore (5'11, 190)
  • 20 Dennis Briggs – Senior (5’10, 195)
  • 22 Kollin Smith – Freshman (5'10, 180)
  • 24 Phil Campbell III – Sophomore (6’1, 200)
  • 26 Judson Tallandier – Freshman (6'0, 180)
  • 27 Bricen Garner – Sophomore (6’1, 190)
  • 31 Erick Hallett – Freshman (5'11, 175)
  • 32 Phillipie Motley – Senior (5’10, 180)
  • 41 Colin Jonov – Senior (5’9, 195)
  • 46 Rimoni Dorsey – Junior (6’0, 205)

Placekickers

  • 49 Jake Scarton – Freshman (6'3, 195)
  • 97 Alex Kessman – Sophomore (6'3, 195)
  • 98 Will Connelly – Freshman (6'2, 220)

Long Snappers

  • 51 Grey Brancifort – Freshman (6'1, 225)
  • 94 Cal Adomitis – Sophomore (6'1, 225)

Game summaries

Albany

Albany at Pittsburgh
1 234Total
Great Danes 7 000 7
Panthers 19 1400 33

Penn State

Penn State at Pittsburgh
1 234Total
No. 13 Nittany Lions 7 71621 51
Panthers 6 000 6

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh
1 234Total
Yellow Jackets 0 0613 19
Panthers 14 730 24
  • Date: September 15
  • Location:
    Heinz Field
    Pittsburgh, PA
  • Game start: 12:34 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:03
  • Game attendance: 34,284
  • Game weather: 79°F • E 8 • Mostly Cloudy
  • Referee: Jerry Magallanes
  • TV announcers (ACCRSN):
    Play-by-Play: Wes Durham
    Analyst: James Bates

at North Carolina

Pittsburgh at North Carolina
1 234Total
Panthers 7 2107 35
Tar Heels 7 14170 38

at UCF

Pittsburgh at UCF
1 234Total
Panthers 7 007 14
No. 13 Knights 14 1777 45
  • Date: September 29
  • Location:
    Spectrum Stadium
    Orlando, FL
  • Game start: 3:32 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:20
  • Game attendance: 44,904
  • Game weather: 91°F • E 11 • Hot
  • Referee: Jerry Magallanes
  • TV announcers (ESPNU):
    Play-by-Play: Mike Corey
    Analyst: Rene Ingoglia

Syracuse

Syracuse at Pittsburgh
1 234OTTotal
Orange 14 31460 37
Panthers 14 67107 44
  • Date: October 6
  • Location:
    Heinz Field
    Pittsburgh, PA
  • Game start: 12:21 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 4:31
  • Game attendance: 37,100
  • Game weather: 82°F • SW 8 • Mostly Sunny
  • Referee: David Epperley
  • TV announcers (Raycom):
    Play-by-Play: Tom Werme
    Analyst: Dave Archer
    Sideline: Lericia Harris

at Notre Dame

Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Panthers 7 070 14
No. 5 Fighting Irish 0 667 19

Duke

Duke at Pittsburgh
1 234Total
Blue Devils 7 14213 45
Panthers 7 101819 54
  • Date: October 27
  • Location:
    Heinz Field
    Pittsburgh, PA
  • Game start: 3:33 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:21
  • Game attendance: 31,510
  • Game weather: 45°F • NE 4 • Light rain
  • Referee: David Epperley
  • TV announcers (ACCRSN):
    Play-by-Play: Wes Durham
    Analyst: James Bates

at Virginia

Pittsburgh at Virginia
1 234Total
Panthers 7 079 23
No. 23 Cavaliers 7 303 13

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
1 234Total
Hokies 0 787 22
Panthers 10 21714 52
  • Date: November 10
  • Location:
    Heinz Field
    Pittsburgh, PA
  • Game start: 3:32 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:07
  • Game attendance: 44,398
  • Game weather: 32°F • W 13 • Clear
  • Referee: Jerry Magallanes
  • TV announcers (ESPNU):
    Play-by-Play: Kevin Brown
    Analyst: Andre Ware

at Wake Forest

Pittsburgh at Wake Forest
1 234Total
Panthers 0 61414 34
Demon Deacons 3 703 13
  • Date: November 17
  • Location:
    BB&T Field
    Winston-Salem, NC
  • Game start: 12:04 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:01
  • Game attendance: 25,609
  • Game weather: 54°F • ENE 4 • Sunny
  • Referee: Duane Heydt
  • TV announcers (ACCRSN):
    Play-by-Play: Evan Lepler
    Analyst: Takeo Spikes

at Miami (FL)

Pittsburgh at Miami (FL)
1 234Total
No. 24 Panthers 0 030 3
Hurricanes 3 777 24

vs. Clemson (ACC Championship Game)

Pittsburgh vs. Clemson
1 234Total
No. 2 Tigers 14 14014 42
Panthers 3 700 10

vs. Stanford (Sun Bowl)

Pittsburgh vs. Stanford
1 234Total
Cardinal 0 707 14
Panthers 0 1030 13

2019 NFL Draft

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Qadree OllisonRB5152Atlanta Falcons

References

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