Pitt Can Compete in Modern Football Landscape

Following a disaster of a season, the Pitt Panthers can still turn it around against the odds.

M.J. Devonshire (12) of the Pittsburgh Panthers reacts after knocking the ball away from Cedric / Michael Longo/For USA Today Network /

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers football team had a disastrous 2023 season. Bad quarterback play supplanted by substandard offensive coordination led to the worst season Pitt has had since 1998.

In the offseason, they lost stalwarts of their defense. From losing M.J. Devonshire to the draft to Bangally Kamara, Sam Okunlola and Dayon Hayes to the transfer portal, things looked bleak for the stronger side of the ball. Despite the offense, the Panthers were able to have a top-50 defense in terms of yards given up in 2023, allowing just 361.6 per game.

This has led many fans of the program to worry and believe that Pitt no longer has a shot to compete in college football. With the landscape of the game ever changing due to realignment, NIL and the transfer portal, many fans believe that Pitt will get left in the dust.

But contrary to popular belief, Pitt will be able to persevere. It has been a while since Pitt has landed a 5-star recruit, last receiving one in Dorian Johnson in 2013 and yet, they succeed. The Panthers are the only team not named Clemson or Florida State to win the ACC Championship since 2011. En route to that championship, Pitt beat a team with nine five-star players in Clemson while having zero rostered.

Pitt has never needed the flashy high-end talent to win games. When you think of some of the best professional Pitt players, you likely go to Aaron Donald, Darelle Revis and maybe even Calijah Kancey. Add Dion Lewis, Patrick Jones II and Izzy Abanikanda and you get 6 3-star recruits that Pitt turned into NFL level talent.

Pat Narduzzi and his staff will be able to repeat this process again this season. While not much talent stands out immediately, I trust in the staffs' ability to develop players into high-level competitors. This in turn leads to better overall team play and winning more games.

While I'm not saying that Pitt will go on to make the twelve-team playoff this coming fall, I wholeheartedly believe that they can still compete, even if they get outbid on high-level talent.

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