2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by sixth-year head coach Pat Narduzzi and played their home games at Heinz Field. They competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). This was Pitt's eighth season as a member of the ACC.

2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record6–5 (5–5 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMark Whipple (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorRandy Bates (3rd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumHeinz Field
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Notre Dame y^   9 0     10 2  
No. 3 Clemson y$^   8 1     10 2  
No. 22 Miami (FL)   7 2     8 3  
No. 18 North Carolina   7 3     8 4  
NC State   7 3     8 4  
Boston College   5 5     6 5  
Pittsburgh   5 5     6 5  
Virginia Tech   5 5     5 6  
Virginia   4 5     5 5  
Wake Forest   3 4     4 5  
Georgia Tech   3 6     3 7  
Louisville   3 7     4 7  
Florida State   2 6     3 6  
Duke   1 9     2 9  
Syracuse   1 9     1 10  
Championship: Clemson 34, Notre Dame 10
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll.

After finishing their regular season with an overall record of 6–5 (5–5 in conference games), the program announced on December 11 that they would not take part in any bowl game.[1]

Schedule

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Pittsburgh had games scheduled against Marshall, Miami (OH) and Richmond that were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3][4]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 124:00 p.m.Austin Peay*ACCNW 55–00 (Behind closed doors)
September 1912:00 p.m.SyracuseNo. 25
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ACCNW 21–100 (Behind closed doors)
September 2612:00 p.m.No. 24 LouisvilleNo. 21
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
ACCNW 23–200 (Behind closed doors)
October 312:00 p.m.NC StateNo. 24
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
ACCNL 29–300 (Behind closed doors)
October 104:00 p.m.at Boston CollegeACCNL 30–31 OT0 (Behind closed doors)
October 1712:00 p.m.at No. 13 Miami (FL)ACCNL 19–319,000
October 243:30 p.m.No. 3 Notre Dame
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ABCL 3–455,451
November 74:00 p.m.at Florida StateACCNW 41–1716,568
November 214:00 p.m.Virginia Tech
  • Heinz Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
ACCNW 47–144,612
November 283:30 p.m.at No. 3 ClemsonABCL 17–5218,819
December 10[5]7:00 p.m.at Georgia TechACCRSNW 34–2011,000

The ACC released their schedule on July 29, with specific dates selected on August 6.[2]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP—*252124RV
CoachesRVRV*RVRV25RV
CFPNot releasedNot released

Game summaries

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Austin Peay

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1 2 3 4 Total
Governors 0 0 0 0 0
Panthers 21 21 0 13 55

Syracuse

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1 2 3 4 Total
Orange 3 7 0 0 10
No. 25 Panthers 7 7 7 0 21

Louisville

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 24 Cardinals 7 10 3 0 20
No. 21 Panthers 13 7 3 0 23

NC State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wolfpack 10 7 0 13 30
No. 24 Panthers 7 6 7 9 29

At Boston College

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1 2 3 4OT Total
Panthers 7 7 7 36 30
Eagles 3 14 7 07 31

At Miami (FL)

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1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 6 13 0 19
No 13 Hurricanes 7 7 14 3 31

Notre Dame

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 3 Fighting Irish 7 21 17 0 45
Panthers 3 0 0 0 3

At Florida State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 10 14 7 10 41
Seminoles 14 3 0 0 17

Virginia Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
Hokies 0 14 0 0 14
Panthers 6 17 17 7 47

At Clemson

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Pittsburgh at Clemson
1 234Total
Panthers 0 1070 17
No. 3 Tigers 31 777 52
       
Pregame line Over/under
PITT +24 58.5[6]
Statistics Pittsburgh Clemson
First downs 12 27
Total yards 246 581
Rushing yards 16 145
Passing yards 230 436
Turnovers 3 2
Time of possession 23:28 36:32
Team Category Player Statistics
Pittsburgh Passing Kenny Pickett 22/39, 209 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INTs
Rushing A.J. Davis 4 carries, 21 yards
Receiving Jared Wayne 5 receptions, 62 yards
Clemson Passing Trevor Lawrence 26/37, 403 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing Travis Etienne 11 carries, 58 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Cornell Powell 6 receptions, 176 yards, 1 TD

At Georgia Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 3 13 7 11 34
Yellow Jackets 7 0 6 7 20

Players drafted into the NFL

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Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
3 90 Patrick Jones II DE Minnesota Vikings
4 135 Rashad Weaver DE Tennessee Titans
5 175 Jason Pinnock DB New York Jets
6 199 Jaylen Twyman DT Minnesota Vikings
6 212 Damar Hamlin DB Buffalo Bills
7 230 Jimmy Morrissey C Las Vegas Raiders

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Jace (December 11, 2020). "Pittsburgh football team elects to not play in bowl game this season". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "ACC Announces Plans for Football and Fall Olympic Sports". TheACC.com. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  4. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (August 8, 2020). "MAC postpones all fall sports, including football". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Pitt's game against Georgia Tech was originally scheduled for November 14 at 7:00 p.m. but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  6. ^ "Pittsburgh Panthers vs Clemson Tigers". Odds Shark. Retrieved November 28, 2020.