As Americans, we have absolutely no idea what the country will look like three months from now, just as college football season is set to begin.
Many conferences and universities across the country have already announced dates to allow their players to return to campus for workouts. Furthermore, some schools are developing contingency plans to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard stated that the capacity of Jack Trice Stadium in Ames will be cut from 61,500 to 30,000 for the 2020 season. It is likely that many schools will follow suit in limiting their capacity.
For the Pitt Panthers, who play in Heinz Field, which seats nearly 70,000 people, that should not be too much of a problem, factually speaking.
Come on...cue all of the attendance jokes. We have heard them all.
"Being at Heinz Field for a Pitt game is the best place to social distance."
"Pitt has never had a problem with limiting capacity before."
Real original. Real original. Those jokers are right, however.
In 2019, a home schedule that lacked the marquee draw of a Notre Dame, Penn State, or West Virginia saw Pitt's average attendance sit at 43,372. Their high mark came at 47,918 on a rainy Saturday afternoon in October when they were embarrassed by a mediocre Miami(FL) team.
Speaking of embarrassing, last year's Pitt team mightily underachieved. After dropping two of their first three to Virginia (ACC Coastal Division champion) and Penn State (Cotton Bowl champion), Pitt rebounded nicely with four straight wins, including defeating #15 Central Florida to hand the Knights their first regular-season loss since 2016.
Even following the embarrassing loss to the Miami Hurricanes, Pitt bounced back to win at Georgia Tech and at home vs North Carolina, giving the Panthers their first win over the Tar Heels since 2009 and their first since joining the ACC in 2013.
Pitt sat at 7-3 with a 4-2 conference record with two games to go. They still had an outside shot to repeat as Coastal Division champions, but needed to defeat Virginia Tech and Boston College, while having Virginia Tech defeat Virginia in the final week of the season.
None of that happened.
Pitt traveled to Blacksburg and were embarrassed by the Hokies, 28-0. On Black Friday, the Hokies traveled to Charlottesville, where they were defeated by Cavaliers en route to Virginia claiming the division title. The following day, Pitt was humiliated at home by an underwhelming Boston College team, and although the final was 26-19, the score did not reflect how poorly Pitt played.
In their fifth year under Pat Narduzzi, Pitt accepted an invitation to the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit to practically play an away game against the Eastern Michigan Eagles of the Mid-American Conference. It took Pitt until the final minute to score the game-winning touchdown, as the Panthers squeaked by, 34-30.
Pitt finished the season with eight wins for the third time in five seasons under Narduzzi. Ironically, the 2018 season in which they won the ACC Coastal Division saw Pitt win only seven games. Nonetheless, the past half-decade has been very underwhelming.
We already know what the Panthers' 2020 schedule looks like. Below, I have predicted the time and television network of each game, along with each game's result.
Here is to hoping 2020 is the start of something special for the Panthers.
Week 1 - vs Miami(Ohio) RedHawks (Mid-American Conference)
Date: Saturday, September 5
Venue: Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
TV: ACC Network (3:30 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Miami(Ohio), 28-10 (1-0)
Week 2 - at Marshall Thundering Herd (Conference USA)
Date: Saturday, September 12
Venue: Joan Edwards Stadium - Huntington, WV
TV: CBS Sports Network (7:00 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Marshall, 26-21 (2-0)
Week 3 - vs Richmond Spiders (Colonial Athletic Association - FCS)
Date: Saturday, September 19
Venue: Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (12:30 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Richmond, 37-13 (3-0)
Week 4- vs Duke Blue Devils (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Date: Saturday, September 26
Venue: Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
TV: ACC Network (12:00 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Duke, 28-17 (4-0, 1-0)
Week 5 - at Miami(Florida) Hurricanes (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Date: Saturday, October 3
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium - Miami Gardens, FL
TV: ESPN2 (3:30 PM ET)
Result: Miami(Florida) defeats Pitt, 30-13 (4-1, 1-1)
Week 6 - vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish (FBS Independents)
Date: Saturday, October 17
Venue: Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
TV: ABC (7:30 PM ET)
Result: Notre Dame defeats Pitt, 27-21 (4-2)
Week 7 - vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Date: Saturday, October 24
Venue: Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
TV: ESPNU (12:00 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Georgia Tech, 35-17 (5-2, 2-1)
Week 8 - at Florida State Seminoles (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Date: Saturday, October 31
Venue: Doak Campbell Stadium - Tallahassee, FL
TV: ACC Network (7:30 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Florida State, 24-13 (6-2, 3-1)
Week 9 - vs Virginia Tech Hokies (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Date: Friday, November 6
Venue: Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
TV: ESPN2 (7:00 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Virginia Tech, 28-24 (7-2, 4-1)
Week 10 - at North Carolina Tar Heels (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Date: Saturday, November 14
Venue: Kenan Stadium - Chapel Hill, NC
TV: ESPN (3:30 PM ET)
Result: North Carolina defeats Pitt, 35-10 (7-3, 4-2)
Week 11 - at Virginia Cavaliers (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Date: Saturday, November 21
Venue: Scott Stadium - Charlottesville, VA
TV: ESPN2 (7:00 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Virginia, 34-31 (8-3, 5-2)
Week 12 - vs Syracuse Orange (Atlantic Coast Conference)
Date: Saturday, November 28
Venue: Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
TV: ACC Network (12:00 PM ET)
Result: Pitt defeats Syracuse, 34-13 (9-3, 6-2)
Cheez-It Bowl - vs Baylor Bears (Big 12 Conference)
Date: To Be Determined
Venue: Camping World Stadium - Orlando, FL
TV: ESPN (5:30 PM ET)
Result: Baylor defeats Pitt, 35-21 (9-4)
2020 will be a very successful year for Pitt. Two mid-season losses against Miami(Florida) and Notre Dame will test Pitt's resiliency, and they will respond nicely.
However, given the upward trajectory of North Carolina, led by legendary head coach Mack Brown and rising quarterback Sam Howell, I feel that a Week 10 blowout loss in Chapel Hill will cost Pitt a shot at winning the ACC Coastal Division.
Pitt will bounce back with two more wins over Virginia and Syracuse, and will earn a trip to a quality bowl game in Orlando, where they will ultimately be defeated by the Baylor Bears.
Notre Dame 56-10