# 2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by fourth-year head coach Pat Narduzzi and played their home games at Heinz Field. They were a member of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). This was Pitt's sixth season as a member of the ACC.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Doak Walker Award | Darrin Hall | RB | SR |
| Butkus Award | Oluwaseun Idowu | LB | RS SR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Darrin Hall | RB | SR |

### ACC media poll

The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018, with the Panthers predicted to finish in fifth place in the Coastal Division.
Media poll (Coastal) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Miami | 998 (122) |
| 2 | Virginia Tech | 838 (16) |
| 3 | Georgia Tech | 654 (8) |
| 4 | Duke | 607 (1) |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 420 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 370 (1) |
| 7 | Virginia | 257 |

## Schedule

The Panthers schedule was released on January 17, 2018.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 3:30 p.m. | Albany* | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ACCN Extra | W 33–7 | 34,486 |
| September 8 | 8:00 p.m. | No. 13 Penn State* | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | ABC | L 6–51 | 68,400 |
| September 15 | 12:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ACCRSN | W 24–19 | 34,284 |
| September 22 | 12:20 p.m. | at North Carolina | | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | Raycom | L 35–38 | 44,168 |
| September 29 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 13 UCF* | | Spectrum StadiumOrlando, FL | ESPNU | L 14–45 | 44,904 |
| October 6 | 12:20 p.m. | Syracuse | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | Raycom | W 44–37 $^{OT}$ | 37,100 |
| October 13 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 5 Notre Dame* | | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | L 14–19 | 77,622 |
| October 27 | 3:30 p.m. | Duke | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ACCRSN | W 54–45 | 31,510 |
| November 2 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 25 Virginia | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPN2 | W 23–13 | 36,256 |
| November 10 | 3:30 p.m. | Virginia Tech | | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA | ESPNU | W 52–22 | 44,398 |
| November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wake Forest | | BB&T FieldWinston-Salem, NC | ACCRSN | W 34–13 | 25,609 |
| November 24 | 3:30 p.m. | at Miami (FL) | No. 24 | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL | ESPN | L 3–24 | 59,606 |
| December 1 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 2 Clemson | | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, NC (ACC Championship) | ABC | L 10–42 | 67,784 |
| December 31 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. Stanford* | | Sun Bowl StadiumEl Paso, TX (Sun Bowl) | CBS | L 13–14 | 40,680 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 30 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
The Cathedral of Learning, which usually lights up after every Pitt sports win, was darkened following Pitt's 54–45 victory over Duke on October 27 out of respect for the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in nearby Squirrel Hill, which had occurred earlier that day.

## Game summaries
### Albany

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Great Danes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Panthers | 19 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 33 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 13 Nittany Lions | 7 | 7 | 16 | 21 | 51 |
| Panthers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Yellow Jackets | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 19 |
| • Panthers | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 24 |

### At North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
| • Tar Heels | 7 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 38 |

### At UCF

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • No. 13 Knights | 14 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 45 |

### Syracuse

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Orange | 14 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 37 |
| • Panthers | 14 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 44 |

### At Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • No. 5 Fighting Irish | 0 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |

### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 7 | 14 | 21 | 3 | 45 |
| • Panthers | 7 | 10 | 18 | 19 | 54 |

### At Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Panthers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| No. 23 Cavaliers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |

### Virginia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hokies | 0 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
| • Panthers | 10 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 52 |

### At Wake Forest

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Panthers | 0 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 34 |
| Demon Deacons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |

### At Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Panthers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| • Hurricanes | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### Vs. Clemson (ACC Championship game)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Tigers | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 42 |
| Panthers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### Vs. Stanford (Sun Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cardinal | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Panthers | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |

## 2019 NFL draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Qadree Ollison | RB | 5 | 152 | Atlanta Falcons |