Pittsburgh Panthers

The Pittsburgh Panthers, coached by TheLiberator, are a collegiate football team playing in the ACC. The Panthers play in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and are a member of the Coastal Division of the ACC.

## History

### 2014-2020: Jumbo era

3 games into the 2014 Pittsburgh Panthers season, the team hired an actual coach with Jumbo taking the helm. The team has enjoyed 7 winning seasons under the coach; additionally, the team has won 2 Coastal division titles.

#### 2014-2016: Beginnings; James Dale Era

##### 2014

The first season in Pitt's history, it was mostly noted for Pitt notching their first bowl victory (against Texas in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas). They also achieved their first ever coaches' poll ranking at #25 in Week 8 before falling to the Miami Hurricanes.

##### 2015

The second season in Pitt's history was marked by their first ever Coastal division title. This division title was won on technicality after DollaBill-gate forced North Carolina to forfeit all postseason play. James Dale set a Pitt record with 25 TD passes.

##### 2016

The Panthers started the season ranked #20 and have moved as high as #11 in the rankings. Pitt also earned the best win in program history when they defeated Notre Dame 52-50 in triple overtime. Pitt claimed The CFBHC Championship Belt in this game, though they relinquished it in a loss to Penn State two weeks later. Pitt would be the only team to beat the Fighting Irish that season as Notre Dame would go on to win the National Title.

#### 2017-2018: Luke Williams

Pitt had 2 similar seasons to the Dale era with Luke Williams at QB, going 7-6 and 9-4 with no real notable upsets outside of a 2017 win over then-#21 Penn State (the first in team history) and a 2018 bowl win over #15 Texas.

#### 2019-2020: Grant McConnell

Pitt won their second ever Coastal title in 2019 with JUCO transfer and first-ever scrambler Grant McConnell at the helm.

In 2020, the team recorded their first ever 10-win season and qualified for the national playoffs as the #5 seed. The team also achieved their highest coaches poll ranking at #3.

### 2021-Present: TheLiberator era

Starting his first season in 2021 after Jumbo moved to USC, TheLiberator was excited to make a splash in the CFB world by coaching his hometown team after a 10-3 season with the Army Black Knights.

## All-Time Records

### Series Records vs ACC Opponents

Pitt joined the ACC for full play in 2014. Here is their record against each opponent.

## Bowl History

The team has appeared in a bowl game every year of its existence, going 3-3.

## Individual Award Winners

### National Awards

* **Ray Guy Award**

P Mason Singleton - 2018 CFBHC Season

### All-Americans

* **2018**

P Mason Singleton

### 1st Team All-ACC

ILB Michael Williams (SR)
FS Michael Hunter (JR)* **2016**

DT Michael McBride (FR)
K Stanley Brewster (SR)
P Mason Singleton (SO)
RET Brett Tran (SR)* **2018**

TE Hunter Goodson (JR)
DT Michael McBride (JR)
P Mason Singleton (SR)

C Tim Kerns (JR)
DT Michael McBride (SR)
K Benjamin Rincon (JR)* **2020**

QB Grant McConnell (SR)
WR Adam Coles (JR)
C Tim Kerns (SR)

## Records and Draftees

Main article: List of University of Pittsburgh Records
Main article: List of Pittsburgh Panthers in the NFL Draft