Pitt vs Wofford: Game Info, Odds, Three Storylines

The Pitt Panthers welcome Wofford for their 2023 season opener.

PITTSBURGH -- Football season is back in Pittsburgh and the Pitt Panthers will finally hit the field for the first time in 2023. 

They'll take on an FCS opponent, Wofford and try to kick off their season with an easy win as Power 5 opponents in Cincinnati and West Virginia await in Weeks 3 and 4.  

Game Info
Opponent: Wofford Terriers (0-0 overall, 0-0 Southern Conference)
Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Location: Acrisure Stadium; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Broadcast: ACC Network and 93.7 The Fan

Odds
The Panthers are 39.5-point favorites over the Terriers. 

Three Storylines

What Kind of Pitt Comes Out?
The Panthers' history against FCS opponents is not particularly glowing. There have been blowouts - think Rhode Island in 2022, New Hampshire the year before, Austin Peay in 2020, and Albany in 2018. But there have been some close calls too - think 2019 Delaware or Youngstown State in 2017 and 2015. 

When Pitt opens the season against a team like this, with the kind of marquee games they have lined up in the following weeks, the coaching staff tends to hold some things back and keep them off of film for opponents to see, which can make the final margin less gaudy than many would expect.  

They likely won't need to pull out all the stops to blow out the Terriers. Running the ball with its deep stable of tailbacks will get the job done, but Pitt has boasted its new-look, explosive passing offense all throughout training camp. The question entering this one isn't will Pitt win, but how they'll do it. 

New Faces Make Starting Debuts

Pitt has enjoyed its most successful two-year run since the 1980s. But the flip side of winning is that it eventually costs you talent when productive players leave and the Panthers are facing that challenge as much as anyone this season. 

After losing their leading passer, rusher, receiver, tackler, a first-round pick from the defensive line and two starting safeties from a season ago, they will be breaking in plenty of new faces. 

Phil Jurkovec and Daejon Reynolds will make their Pitt debuts after arriving as transfers in January. Solomon DeShields, Javon McIntyre, Jason Collier Jr. and P.J. O'Brien will get their first action as starters at Pitt. Then there are returning veterans like Rodney Hammond, Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means who are expected to take on even larger roles in 2023. 

This Pitt team will look drastically different from the 2021 and 2022 squads as they try to sustain the momentum this program has built over the past two seasons. 

Old Friend Back in Pittsburgh

Former Pitt offensive coordinator Shawn Watson took over as the interim coach at Wofford in the middle of last season and orchestrated a dramatic turnaround. After losing their first five games of the season (before former Pitt defensive coordinator Josh Conklin resigned his post as head coach), Watson led them to wins in three of their final six games and increased their scoring output from 7.6 points per game to 30.2. 

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi called Watson "a great friend" and is excited for the challenges that the Wofford offense will pose to the Panthers on defense. 

"There's definitely the Shawn Watson influence on their offense," Narduzzi said. "Because he's a receiver coach, there's a lot more passing, so expect some shots, which would be good. We need to see those and find out where our secondary is."

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