The upcoming University of Pittsburgh Panthers football season is starting and it should be interesting to see how Pitt fares this year.
Last year, Pitt produced well enough to go to a bowl game against MAC Champion Bowling Green and rather than their customary loss, they actually won the game. Of course, it didn’t hurt that they had defensive juggernaut, unanimous All-American, Aaron Donald, the 2014 first-round pick of the St. Louis Rams playing for them.
This year the Panthers shouldn’t have too much of a problem winning games in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Granted, they are a young team with some significant pieces to replace but Pitt has a relatively manageable conference schedule.
Think about it, the ACC has some extraordinarily formidable teams in their conference. These teams include defending national champions Florida State, Clemson, and Louisville.
Do the Pittsburgh Panthers have to play any of those powerhouses? Absolutely not. Whoever put together the Panthers’ conference schedule should have a small monument built for them.
Although two of Pitt’s first three games are away, the Panthers will play Iowa, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Duke and Syracuse all at home. Those are some good teams but if Pitt plays up to their potential, they could easily win every last one of them. For the record, they won’t win against each team but if the Panthers continue to buy into head coach, Paul Chryst’s winning mentality, the Panthers will be fully capable of doing so.
The Panthers open their season against the University of Delaware’s Blue Hens, a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), on Aug. 30, 2014. The game will be played at Heinz Field at 12:00 pm. This is the first time that these two schools are meeting at a collegiate football level.
Hopefully, the Pittsburgh Panthers won’t take Delaware’s Fightin Blue Hens for granted.
When University of Delaware’s head coach K.C. Keeler was asked about playing against University of Pittsburgh’s football program, he stated, “We are excited to have the opportunity to play a program that annually ranks among the nation’s best.”
He then said, “Our schedule is consistently ranked among the toughest at our level of football, and playing a team the caliber of Pitt only enhances that. I know that our players and our fans will be excited, as well.”
It will be up to the Panthers to erase the Blue Hens excitement and make them green with envy. It should be an enjoyable nonconference match up for Pittsburgh to work out their kinks before heading into conference play.
(Two Sources for this story was ESPN.com and College Sports Network)
Alexis Sara Cobb may be reached at: alexiscobb@ascexec.com or (724) 561-8082 Follow her on Twitter: @alexissara
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