2011 Pittsburgh Football Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

Despite a 1-3 non-conference record to start the season, the Pittsburgh Panthers finished 2010 with a 8-5 record. They went 5-2 in Big East play and capped off their season with a 27-10 win over Kentucky in the Compass Bowl. The Panthers tied Connecticut and West Virginia on top the Big East standings, but technically finished third with losses against both the Huskies and Mountaineers. The Panthers decided to force out head coach Dave Wannstedt after six years, and initially replaced him with Mike Haywood, but Haywood was fired just 16 days later after getting into legal troubles. The Panthers ended up landing Todd Graham, who has been the head coach at Tulsa the last four seasons.

Graham walks into a great situation at Pittsburgh, as the Panthers return 13 starters from 2010, including eight on what figures to be the best defense in the Big East. To get a better feel for what the Panthers will look like this season, here is quick breakdown of who they will be sending to the field on both sides of the ball.

Offense:

The Panthers came into the 2009 season with some question marks surrounding the quarterback positions, but sophomore Tino Sunseri was up to the challenge in his first year as the starter. Sunseri completed 64.5% of his passes for 2,572 yards with 16 touchdowns to nine interceptions. This year Sunseri will get a little more freedom in the passing game, and should put up much better numbers in his junior year.

Sunseri benefited from opposing teams loading the box to try and stop the Panthers running game. Dion Lewis and Ray Graham combined for 1,983 yards and 21 touchdowns last year. While the Panthers lose Lewis (1,061 yards, 13 touchdowns), they really like what they have in Graham, who averaged 6.2 yards per carry as a sophomore. There isn’t a whole lot of depth behind Graham, but as long as he stays healthy the Panthers should continue to move the ball on the ground.

Pittsburgh will have to replace leading wide out Jon Baldwin, who caught 53 passes for 822 yards and five touchdowns. I really think the Panthers hurt themselves by not throwing to Baldwin more, but the focus is now on getting the ball to sophomore Devin Street and junior Mike Shanahan. They will also add in junior Cameron Saddler, who earned 2nd Team All-Big East Honors as a punt returner in 2010.

The Panthers should be solid up front on the offensive line. They bring back talented senior right tackle Lucas Nix and senior left tackle Jordan Gibbs. They also have one of the top guards in the conference in senior right guard Chris Jacobson. Added to the starting mix will be redshirt freshman center Brandon Sacco and senior left guard Greg Gaskins. Look for the Panthers to have a ton of success running the ball behind Nix and Jacobson on the right side.

Defense:

The Panthers will make the switch to a three man front, and this unit looks as good as any defensive line in the Big East. Seniors Brandon Lindsey and Chas Alecxih will take over on the outside, and not only are they great against the run, but they combined for 17.5 sacks last season. With all the talent around them these two have the potential to put up even better numbers this season. At nose tackle senior Myles Caragein is a beast inside. Not bad considering they lost defensive ends Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus to the NFL.

At linebacker the Panthers are loaded with talent and experience. They bring back seniors Greg Williams, Max Gruder, and Tristian Robers, and add in a talented redshirt freshman in Todd Thomas. With the all the focus opposing offensive lines will have to give to the front three, it figures to be extremely hard for anyone to move the ball on the ground against this defense.

Pittsburgh returns senior corner Antwuan Reed and junior free safety Jarred Holley in the secondary. Joining them will be sophomore corner K’Waun Williams and sophomore safety Jason Hendricks. All four of these players are very talented, and will only benefit from all the pressure the Panthers will put on opposing quarterbacks.

2011 Prediction: 1st Big East - I think the Panthers will come in a bit underrated offensively, but even if the offense struggles it is going to be extremely hard for opposing teams to score against Pittsburgh’s defense. The Panthers three toughest games will come against USF, Cincinnati, and West Virginia, but they get both USF and Cincinnati at home. If they can beat the Mountaineers on the road, they have a great shot at finishing conference play undefeated.

Big East Football Predictions by Team
Cincinnati Football Predictions	Connecticut Football Predictions
Louisville Football Predictions	Pittsburgh Football Predictions
Rutgers Football Predictions	South Florida Football Predictions
Syracuse Football Predictions	West Virginia Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Predictions

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