2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football
2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	6–5 (5–5 ACC)
Head coach	Pat Narduzzi (6th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mark Whipple (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Randy Bates (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Heinz Field
	Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

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 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t e
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

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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12	4:00 p.m.	Austin Peay*		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCN	W 55–0	0 (Behind closed doors)
September 19	12:00 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 25	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ACCN	W 21–10	0 (Behind closed doors)
September 26	12:00 p.m.	No. 24 Louisville	No. 21	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCN	W 23–20	0 (Behind closed doors)
October 3	12:00 p.m.	NC State	No. 24	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCN	L 29–30	0 (Behind closed doors)
October 10	4:00 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ACCN	L 30–31 ^OT	0 (Behind closed doors)
October 17	12:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Miami (FL)		Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ACCN	L 19–31	9,000
October 24	3:30 p.m.	No. 3 Notre Dame		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 3–45	5,451
November 7	4:00 p.m.	at Florida State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ACCN	W 41–17	16,568
November 21	4:00 p.m.	Virginia Tech		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCN	W 47–14	4,612
November 28	3:30 p.m.	at No. 3 Clemson		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	ABC	L 17–52	18,819
December 10^[5]	7:00 p.m.	at Georgia Tech		Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	ACCRSN	W 34–20	11,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

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

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—*	25	21	24	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	RV	RV*	RV	RV	25	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
CFP	Not released												—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Game summaries

Austin Peay

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

Syracuse

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

Louisville

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

NC State

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

At Boston College

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Panthers	7	7	7	3	6	30
Eagles	3	14	7	0	7	31

At Miami (FL)

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

Notre Dame

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

At Florida State

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

Virginia Tech

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

At Clemson

Pittsburgh at Clemson

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	10	7	0	17
• No. 3 Tigers	31	7	7	7	52

Date: November 28, 2020
Location: Memorial Stadium
Clemson, SC
Game start: 3:36 p.m. EST
Elapsed time: 3 hours and 51 minutes
Game attendance: 18,819
Game weather: Temperature: 68 °F (20 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: SE 1 MPH
Referee: Marcus Woods
TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough (play–by–play), Todd Blackledge (analyst) and Todd McShay (sideline)

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

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

Players drafted into the NFL

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

^ Evans, Jace (December 11, 2020). "Pittsburgh football team elects to not play in bowl game this season". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "ACC Announces Plans for Football and Fall Olympic Sports". TheACC.com. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
^ Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
^ Rittenberg, Adam (August 8, 2020). "MAC postpones all fall sports, including football". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
^ 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.
^ "Pittsburgh Panthers vs Clemson Tigers". Odds Shark. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[1] Evans, Jace (December 11, 2020). "Pittsburgh football team elects to not play in bowl game this season". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2020.

[aac-2] "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.

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