Pitt has had some interesting football teams over the last 20 seasons, with results ranging from pretty good to…the other end of the spectrum.
But if we could line those rosters up, put them on the field and have them all face off in a 20-team single-elimination bracket to determine the best Pitt squad of the last 20 years? With help from WhatIfSports.com, we’re doing just that.
Today we’re starting the 21st Century Pitt Bracket, with the last 20 Pitt teams settling things on the field. To begin, we seeded those 20 teams within a few parameters. The key qualification was that no team could be seeded above another team that had more wins. This was relevant when comparing teams like the one from 2006, which started 6-1 and then stumbled to an 0-5 finish, with the teams from 2007 and 2017, which each recorded a signature win but only had a 5-7 record.
Obviously, there were overlapping records. Three teams won five games, four won six, four others won seven games and six teams won five games, so within those common records, some editorial decisions had to be made.
Here’s how the teams were seeded:
To create a 20-team bracket, the bottom eight seeds had to play in the first round to join the other 12 teams in a 16-team tournament. Here’s what the bracket looks like (click for a larger view):
Today, we’re starting with the left side of the bracket.
Game One: No. 16 vs. No. 17
In the first matchup on the left side of the bracket, the No. 16-seed 2014 team hosted the No. 17-seed 2006 squad for the right to face No. 1-seed 2009, and the first game produced an upset. Pitt won six games in 2006 and six in 2014, with the former led by Tyler Palko and the latter carried by James Conner, but in this matchup, the 2006 team produced a better all-around effort and scored a surprising 42-17 victory in a rout.
The 2006 team jumped out to a 20-7 lead in the second quarter behind two Conor Lee field goals and a pair of rushing touchdowns by LaRod Stephens-Howling. Marcel Pestano caught a pair of receiving touchdowns in the second half and the 2006 squad had a big fourth quarter, scoring on one Pestano reception, two Lee field goals and a safety.
Conner was still productive with 129 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, but Chad Voytik threw for 178 yards, one touchdown - a five-yard pass to Tyler Boyd in the final minute - and one interception. The 2014 team also had one fumble and a missed field goal by Chris Blewitt.
Final: 2006 Pitt 42, 2014 Pitt 17
Game Two: No. 13 vs. No. 20
In the other first-round matchup on the left side of the bracket, Paul Chryst’s second team, the No. 13 seed 2013 squad, faced Dave Wannstedt’s first team, the No. 20 seed team from 2005. 2013 was James Conner’s freshman year, but in this matchup, then-junior Isaac Bennett got the bulk of the carries, rushing for 101 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries to lead the 2013 team to a dominating 33-17 victory.
A big plus for the 2013 squad was Tom Savage; in his lone year of eligibility with the Panthers, Savage nearly had a 3,000-yard season, and in the matchup with the 2005 team, he was at his best, completing 19-of-35 for 324 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Devin Street caught Savage’s one scoring toss, but Tyler Boyd was the star of the receiving game with 136 yards on just six receptions.
Still, it was Bennett and Blewitt who led the way in the early going, as the kicker connected on three first-half field goals and Bennett scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns to give the 2013 Panthers a 23-3 lead at halftime, and the 2005 squad, with virtually no running game and a struggling passing attack, never threatened that lead.
Final: 2013 Pitt 33, 2005 Pitt 17
Game Three: No. 1 vs. No. 17
After upsetting the No. 16-seed 2014 team, the No. 17-seed Pitt Panthers of 2006 earned a date with the No. 1 seed in the bracket, the 2009 squad that won 10 games. And in the first quarter, it looked like Wannstedt and Palko would pull off another upset, as Stephens-Howling scored on a four-yard pass from Palko and Lee connected on a field goal to take a 10--lead into the second quarter.
But the talent on the 2009 team showed up after the first, as Bill Stull threw a pair of touchdown passes - one to Henry Hynoski and one to Cedric McGee - to put his team up 14-10 at halftime. And after the teams came out of the locker room, it was the Dion Lewis show.
First, the freshman running back took a pass from Stull and ran 74 yards to the end zone on the opening possession of the half. Then Lewis took a handoff and ran 68 yards on his team’s next possession. Lewis scored one more time in the fourth quarter and he finished with a whopping 343 yards of total offense (238 rushing, 105 receiving) to go with three touchdowns. Stull completed 22-of-33 passes for 33 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and Wannstedt even got redshirt freshman Tino Sunseri into the game for three pass attempts.
The 2006 team couldn’t get anything going on the ground, rushing for just 71 yards on 37 attempts (1.9 yards per carry), and it didn’t help that the team converted 4-of-16 third downs. Probably the only bright spot for the 2006 squad was Darrelle Revis, who intercepted Stull twice to finish the tournament with three picks.
Final: 2009 Pitt 40, 2006 Pitt 16
Game Four: No. 8 vs. No. 9
In the 8/9 slot were the 2015 and 2010 teams, a pair of eight-win squads who didn’t have much in common beyond their records. The 2015 team was the first for its head coach and won eight games in the regular season; the 2010 team was the last for its head coach and needed a bowl game to get to eight victories.
The 2010 team, Dave Wannstedt’s last, entered the matchup as the No. 9 seed, but those Panthers took control from the start as Dion Lewis scored a first-quarter touchdown to break the 0-0 tie and Mike Shanahan caught a 16-yard pass from Tino Sunseri to extend the lead. The 2015 team battled back, though, getting a splash play from Tyler Boyd who ran a reverse and scored on an 83-yard run before halftime.
In the third quarter, a Chris Blewitt field goal and a Nate Peterman-to-Zach Challingsworth touchdown passes tied the game at 17-17 before Dan Hutchins made it 20-17 for the 2010 team heading into the fourth quarter.
The 2015 team had to punt on its first possession of the final frame, and that turned into the game’s defining play, as Cameron Saddler caught a punt at his own 33, found a hole and ran 67 yards for a special teams touchdown. The 2015 team chipped away at the lead with a fourth-quarter field goal from Chris Blewitt, but it wasn’t enough and the 2010 team won 27-20.
Boyd was the star of the game with 120 yards rushing yards and 53 receiving yards and the 2015 team led almost every statistical category, but those Panthers couldn’t find the end zone enough to win.
Final: 2010 Pitt 27, 2015 Pitt 20
Game Five: No. 4 vs. No. 13
After beating the 2005 team, Pitt’s squad from 2013 advanced to face the No. 4 seed, the 2003 team that is remembered by many as one of the most underachieving teams of the century. With Larry Fitzgerald and Rod Rutherford leading the way, those Panthers were expected to have great success, but an early-season loss to Toledo was the first of several disappointments on the way to an eight-win season.
That team would have no such disappointments against Paul Chryst’s second team, though, as Fitzgerald caught two touchdown passes and the 2003 Panthers blew out the team from 10 years later, 48-17.
Rutherford was outstanding in the game, completing 17-of-25 for 330 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His opponent, Tom Savage, was solid in throwing for 321 yards and a score, but he also threw one interception and had to scramble 11 times (although he avoided taking a sack).
The 2013 team never got its ground attack going in the game, rushing for just 75 yards on 33 attempts (2.3 yards per rush); meanwhile, the 2003 team with a healthy Brandon Miree pounded the ball 52 times for 217 yards. Miree had an outstanding game overall, putting up 144 yards on 24 carries and catching three passes for 84 yards.
Fitzgerald struck twice in the second quarter, scoring on passes of 53 and 2 yards, while Princell Brockenbrough caught Rutherford’s other touchdown pass and the 2003 team added rushing scores from Rutherford, Lousaka Polite and Jawan Walker.
Final: 2003 Pitt 48, 2013 Pitt 17
Game Six: No. 5 vs. No. 12
They always say the 5/12 matchup has the potential for an upset, but that was going to be a tall task for the 2000 Pitt Panthers, who entered the tournament as the No. 12 and had to face the 2016 team that went 8-5 and had one of the most productive offenses in school history.
But anything can happen on a football field, and this 5/12 matchup lived up to its billing as the Panthers from 2000 pulled off the upset to beat the 2016 team 33-28.
One huge advantage for the 2000 team was in time of possession. As the 2016 team uncharacteristically struggled to get the running game going - just 92 yards on 42 attempts - the 2000 squad dominated the line of scrimmage and had an advantage of nearly eight minutes in time of possession. Kevan Barlow led the charge in that regard, rushing 25 times for 137 yards, but the real offensive damage was done by the passing game.
As was often the case for the 2016 defense, the opposing receivers had a big day. Antonio Bryant caught a game-high eight passes for 106 yards and a score, while R.J. English added 95 yards on five receptions and Latef Grim and Nick Goings each caught a touchdown pass. John Turman threw each of those touchdowns and finished with 294 passing yards, while David Priestley rotated in and completed 4-of-5 for 42 yards.
The 2016 team, on the other hand, lacked the balanced and efficient attack that carried it throughout that season. Nate Peterman had three touchdown passes - one each to Dontez Ford, Scott Orndoff and James Conner - but threw for just 231 yards as offensive coordinator Matt Canada tried in futility to establish the running game.
Final: 2000 Pitt 33, 2016 Pitt 28
With those first six games in the books, here's what the bracket looks like. Tomorrow we'll start the right side of the bracket.
