Growing up in Pittsburgh, there was only one football team to care about: The Pittsburgh Steelers. True, Pitt had a Football program, but nobody cared. Penn State had more fans, and Pitt had a quick burst of success before I was born, but generally, meh.

And that’s Pitt this year: Meh.

They have a meh team with a meh Coach and meh production. Yet, somehow, that Coach beat ND last year. And somehow, that team has a better record than ND. Time to right the ship here and ensure that everything in the Universe lines up just a BIT more closely.

Pitt’s Offense

Meh.

Pitt currently ranks 61st in Total Offense, producing 404 yards of offense per game at a clip of 5.3 yards per play (puts them at 80th nationally). This is no powerhouse O, and they’ve turned the ball over at a decent rate as well. Course, nothing compared to ND’s ranking of FIRST IN MOST TURNOVERS, YEEEEEEEEAH!!!! but still not great. The Pitt O goes as the running game goes, driven by a guy that, based on the interviews this week, is in line for the Heisman. But it turns out that Graham is a decent RB in a mediocre run offense. Pitt is ranked 59th in Rushing Yards per Game at 164, with only mediocre production per attempt at 4 yards per carry.

Pitt’s passing O is actually about the same level of meh, with 240 yards per game, good for 52nd in the country.

Pitt’s Defense

Meh to bad.

This is where Pitt goes from meh to bad. Total Defense is ranked 96th, giving up an oh-so-generous 416 yards per game. Unlike the very balanced mediocrity of the offense, however, Pitt is tough against the Run and terrible against the Pass. The Genac-ers are giving up only 80 yards per game on the ground, good for a Top 25 ranking. They are, however, seriously challenged in defending the pass. There was a lot of press dedicated to Pitt’s ‘multiple looks’ and ‘clinic in coverages’ this week, but apparently none of that works as Pitt has yielded 336 yards per game in the air, good for 119th in the nation. The only team worse? UNLV.

Pitt’s Schedule Thus Far

So even if all these stats don’t convince you of Pitt’s solid standing as mediocre to bad, keep in mind that Pitt has played a really, really weak schedule. Sagarin rates Pitt’s schedule to date as the 105th most difficult, as the Panthers have played Buffalo, Maine and at Iowa.

That’s right, Pitt is 119th against the Pass, and they played BUFFALO, MAINE and Iowa. ND should freaking light this team up through the air.

Pitt isn’t very good, folks. ND should freaking mop the floor with them. Will they? That’s a different story. But should, yes. Should.

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