The Athletic Ranks Pitt as Worst Team in the ACC

Pitt isn’t expected to make a whole lot of noise in the ACC this season, but The Athletic doesn’t expect Pitt to make any sort of noise.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic loosely previewed the ACC entering the 2024-25 season and predicted the usual suspects (Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State) to be good. He picked FSU to finish with the best record in the conference — with a better overall record than Miami as the tie-breaker.

He also picked Pitt to have the worst record in the ACC.

Mandel didn’t write anything about Pitt, aside from referring to Pat Narduzzi as a head coach on the decline. He predicts that Pitt will go 3-9 (1-7 ACC) for the second season in a row and finish as the worst team in the conference.

There have been many, many changes to the Panthers — across all three phases — since the end of last season.

Pitt is entering the 2024 season with a “Prove It” mantra. The Panthers, the coaching staff, the players and everyone in the building, know that last season will not be forgotten unless a better result is put in.

The season will largely hinge upon whether or not there’s solid quarterback play. Nate Yarnell entered the summer as the starting quarterback. Still, as Pat Narduzzi has emphasized, there will be competition all the way up until kickoff against Kent State on Aug. 31. So, it’s either Yarnell or Eli Holstein. But whoever is at quarterback, he will have Rodney Hammond Jr., Desmond Reid, Konata Mumpfield, Kenny Johnson and Gavin Bartholomew, among others, at his disposal.

It remains to be seen whether new offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s offense will immediately translate, but if Yarnell or Holstein can play serviceable football, it will go a long way in 2024.

“There’s a different attitude, without a doubt,” Narduzzi said at Pitt Media Day. “There’s got to be — we went through spring ball, there was a different attitude. We went through winter conditioning, there was a different attitude. They went through summer conditioning, there was a different attitude, and there has to be. There’s got to be an attitude adjustment. I think that has occurred and I think they got it.”

The defense did suffer significant losses, but the positions of need have been bolstered through the transfer portal and a few areas defensively are entering the summer with a significant amount of depth. The defensive line and cornerback are still areas of concern, but the portal arrivals will likely be key members of both units. And the linebackers and safeties are clear areas of strength.

It will come down to whether or not the offense can take a step up from where it was last season.