I've included in this post the top five storylines of the season for Pitt provided by Rivals' Chris Peak, who covers the Panthers, and the storylines about Stanford I provided him. Peak and I also exchanged Q&As and top players to watch on each side of the ball. I'll post those soon.
I'm curious what other top storylines Stanford fans might suggest for the Cardinal this season.
Pittsburgh top storylines
Split seasons
Pitt accomplished something in 2018, going 6-2 in the ACC to win the Coastal Division and earn the program its first-ever appearance in the ACC Championship Game. On the surface, that’s a success. The problem is, the Panthers also got blown out in two of their three “big” non-conference games - 51-6 loss to Penn State, 45-14 loss at UCF - and looked completely overmatched against Clemson in the ACC title game. So there was good in the division title and bad in those games against top competition, leaving the fanbase uncertain of what was really accomplished.
Two-headed monster
While Pitt has a pretty strong history of running backs - Tony Dorsett, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, Curtis Martin, LeSean McCoy and Dion Lewis are all former Panthers - there was one statistical achievement the team never reached in its history: two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season. That changed in 2018 when seniors Qadree Ollison (1,190 yards, 6.3 ypc, 11 TD) and Darrin Hall (1,021 yards, 7.5 ypc, 9 TD) became the first to do it. Ollison and Hall each spent plenty of time as backups over the last few years, but they finished their careers in style and both will have a chance to play on Sundays next year.
Not a step forward
Plenty of the optimism surrounding Pitt last offseason had to do with Kenny Pickett. The freshman quarterback finished 2017 with an upset of then-No. 2/then-undefeated Miami in the regular-season finale, making his first career start one to remember with three touchdowns against the Hurricanes. But Pickett’s strong performance didn’t carry over to this year, as he threw for just 1,833 passing yards and had 12 touchdowns against six interceptions. There were a number of issues in Pitt’s passing game - the protection wasn’t great - but Pickett fell short of high expectations.
Defensive improvement
Pitt’s defense had a rough go of things early. Not all of Penn State’s 51 points in Week Two were defensive lapses, and the unit actually played well against Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack in Week Three. But then North Carolina quarterback Nathan Elliott threw for 300 yards against the Panthers, UCF called off the dogs after going for 568, Syracuse scored 37 and Duke had 45 on 619 total yards. Pitt’s defense made some big plays to win the Syracuse and Duke games, but overall, the performances left something to be desired. In the final four games, though, the defense stepped up; Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Miami combined to average 18 points per game. Was that a product of improved performance or weaker opponents? Probably a combination of both - Clemson put up 42 points - but the defense has at least a little momentum from the end of the season.
Questions about Narduzzi
The Sun Bowl will represent the end of Year Four for Pat Narduzzi, and while he is coming off a division championship, those other games mentioned above have created questions about the program. Has Pitt improved since Narduzzi took over? From some perspectives, that answer is yes. The Panthers have won 28 games in his four seasons, which is a pretty solid total in the context of recent Pitt history. But the losses to Miami and Clemson - plus UNC and UCF and Notre Dame and Penn State - have dampened the enthusiasm that should have come with a division title, and Narduzzi will likely enter Year Five with considerable question marks, possibly facing a crucial year in his tenure at Pitt.
Stanford top storylines
Early success crashes in South Bend
Stanford did not play a complete 60 minutes of good football in any of its first four games but found itself 4-0 and in the top 10 for a matchup with Notre Dame. Stanford got lucky to beat Oregon 38-31 in overtime on Sept. 22 after a last-minute fumble by Oregon gave the Cardinal enough time to tie a game they were being blown out of in the first half. That set up a matchup that, if won, could have launched Stanford toward a special season. Instead the Cardinal appeared outmatched even as the score remained close into the fourth quarter. Notre Dame eventually, deservedly, pulled away to start a stretch of four losses in five games for Stanford.
The passing game emerges
Under head coach David Shaw Stanford has been a run-first program but the strength of Stanford's offense was clearly the passing game this season. KJ Costello (3,425 yards, 66.4%, 29 TDs, 11 Ints.) had one of the more productive seasons in program history, and it's a program that has known more than its share of good quarterback play. Costello's top four targets were JJ Arcega-Whiteside (969 yards, 14 TDs), Trent Irwin (685 yards, two TDs), Kaden Smith (635 yards, two TDs) and COlby Parkinson (476 yards, seven TDs). But Mackey Award finalist Kaden Smith is unlikely to play in the Sun Bowl and Irwin is out after suffering an injury against Cal Dec. 1.
The run game fails
David Shaw prefers to have the running backs and offensive line lead the offense with a smashmouth style. Last year Bryce Love broke the mold with a big-play style that Stanford hadn't had before. He had more runs of at least 50 yards in one season than anyone before him and after a Heisman runner-up campaign he was expected to captain an unstoppable offense. But from the season opener Stanford's run game stalled. Opposing defenses loaded the box, the offensive line couldn't open lanes against the crowd and execution also dropped. Stanford's offensive coaches couldn't find a solution and Love suffered another ankle injury. All of which helped propel Shaw to what seemed to be an inevitable decision in the first few games of the season to channel the offense through Costello.
Injuries take a toll
Stanford built a reputation for most of the past 10 years as one of the healthiest teams in college football. This year the injury list has been long since spring practices, continued through training camp and never really let up. Love won't play in the bowl game to rest his ankle. Left tackle Walker Little is out and so is defensive back/captain Alameen Murphy, starting defensive end Dylan Jackson and, as previously mentioned, Irwin and Smith. Backup tackle/guard Foster Sarell also is likely out and backup center/guard Drew Dalman is doubtful as well. All season Stanford was short-handed on the offensive line and at some point each starter was hurt or missed games. Stanford's depth has been tested and a number of young players will need to step up in El Paso.
Looking for a strong close
Stanford won its last three regular season games of the regular season to reverse a disastrous middle stretch that brought the team low when they saw preseason goals dashed. It wasn't always pretty in those final three games, and close wins over UCLA and a Cal team with an anemic offense didn't inspire a huge surge in confidence among fans. But there was progress in some areas in those games. If Stanford can defeat Pitt it gives the Cardinal a better narrative for the season and avoids a second straight year with five losses, which is something that was hard to imagine happening during the first three seasons under Shaw. Those ended in ether the Fiesta Bowl (2011) or Rose Bowl (2012-13).
I'm curious what other top storylines Stanford fans might suggest for the Cardinal this season.
Pittsburgh top storylines
Split seasons
Pitt accomplished something in 2018, going 6-2 in the ACC to win the Coastal Division and earn the program its first-ever appearance in the ACC Championship Game. On the surface, that’s a success. The problem is, the Panthers also got blown out in two of their three “big” non-conference games - 51-6 loss to Penn State, 45-14 loss at UCF - and looked completely overmatched against Clemson in the ACC title game. So there was good in the division title and bad in those games against top competition, leaving the fanbase uncertain of what was really accomplished.
Two-headed monster
While Pitt has a pretty strong history of running backs - Tony Dorsett, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, Curtis Martin, LeSean McCoy and Dion Lewis are all former Panthers - there was one statistical achievement the team never reached in its history: two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season. That changed in 2018 when seniors Qadree Ollison (1,190 yards, 6.3 ypc, 11 TD) and Darrin Hall (1,021 yards, 7.5 ypc, 9 TD) became the first to do it. Ollison and Hall each spent plenty of time as backups over the last few years, but they finished their careers in style and both will have a chance to play on Sundays next year.
Not a step forward
Plenty of the optimism surrounding Pitt last offseason had to do with Kenny Pickett. The freshman quarterback finished 2017 with an upset of then-No. 2/then-undefeated Miami in the regular-season finale, making his first career start one to remember with three touchdowns against the Hurricanes. But Pickett’s strong performance didn’t carry over to this year, as he threw for just 1,833 passing yards and had 12 touchdowns against six interceptions. There were a number of issues in Pitt’s passing game - the protection wasn’t great - but Pickett fell short of high expectations.
Defensive improvement
Pitt’s defense had a rough go of things early. Not all of Penn State’s 51 points in Week Two were defensive lapses, and the unit actually played well against Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack in Week Three. But then North Carolina quarterback Nathan Elliott threw for 300 yards against the Panthers, UCF called off the dogs after going for 568, Syracuse scored 37 and Duke had 45 on 619 total yards. Pitt’s defense made some big plays to win the Syracuse and Duke games, but overall, the performances left something to be desired. In the final four games, though, the defense stepped up; Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Miami combined to average 18 points per game. Was that a product of improved performance or weaker opponents? Probably a combination of both - Clemson put up 42 points - but the defense has at least a little momentum from the end of the season.
Questions about Narduzzi
The Sun Bowl will represent the end of Year Four for Pat Narduzzi, and while he is coming off a division championship, those other games mentioned above have created questions about the program. Has Pitt improved since Narduzzi took over? From some perspectives, that answer is yes. The Panthers have won 28 games in his four seasons, which is a pretty solid total in the context of recent Pitt history. But the losses to Miami and Clemson - plus UNC and UCF and Notre Dame and Penn State - have dampened the enthusiasm that should have come with a division title, and Narduzzi will likely enter Year Five with considerable question marks, possibly facing a crucial year in his tenure at Pitt.
Stanford top storylines
Early success crashes in South Bend
Stanford did not play a complete 60 minutes of good football in any of its first four games but found itself 4-0 and in the top 10 for a matchup with Notre Dame. Stanford got lucky to beat Oregon 38-31 in overtime on Sept. 22 after a last-minute fumble by Oregon gave the Cardinal enough time to tie a game they were being blown out of in the first half. That set up a matchup that, if won, could have launched Stanford toward a special season. Instead the Cardinal appeared outmatched even as the score remained close into the fourth quarter. Notre Dame eventually, deservedly, pulled away to start a stretch of four losses in five games for Stanford.
The passing game emerges
Under head coach David Shaw Stanford has been a run-first program but the strength of Stanford's offense was clearly the passing game this season. KJ Costello (3,425 yards, 66.4%, 29 TDs, 11 Ints.) had one of the more productive seasons in program history, and it's a program that has known more than its share of good quarterback play. Costello's top four targets were JJ Arcega-Whiteside (969 yards, 14 TDs), Trent Irwin (685 yards, two TDs), Kaden Smith (635 yards, two TDs) and COlby Parkinson (476 yards, seven TDs). But Mackey Award finalist Kaden Smith is unlikely to play in the Sun Bowl and Irwin is out after suffering an injury against Cal Dec. 1.
The run game fails
David Shaw prefers to have the running backs and offensive line lead the offense with a smashmouth style. Last year Bryce Love broke the mold with a big-play style that Stanford hadn't had before. He had more runs of at least 50 yards in one season than anyone before him and after a Heisman runner-up campaign he was expected to captain an unstoppable offense. But from the season opener Stanford's run game stalled. Opposing defenses loaded the box, the offensive line couldn't open lanes against the crowd and execution also dropped. Stanford's offensive coaches couldn't find a solution and Love suffered another ankle injury. All of which helped propel Shaw to what seemed to be an inevitable decision in the first few games of the season to channel the offense through Costello.
Injuries take a toll
Stanford built a reputation for most of the past 10 years as one of the healthiest teams in college football. This year the injury list has been long since spring practices, continued through training camp and never really let up. Love won't play in the bowl game to rest his ankle. Left tackle Walker Little is out and so is defensive back/captain Alameen Murphy, starting defensive end Dylan Jackson and, as previously mentioned, Irwin and Smith. Backup tackle/guard Foster Sarell also is likely out and backup center/guard Drew Dalman is doubtful as well. All season Stanford was short-handed on the offensive line and at some point each starter was hurt or missed games. Stanford's depth has been tested and a number of young players will need to step up in El Paso.
Looking for a strong close
Stanford won its last three regular season games of the regular season to reverse a disastrous middle stretch that brought the team low when they saw preseason goals dashed. It wasn't always pretty in those final three games, and close wins over UCLA and a Cal team with an anemic offense didn't inspire a huge surge in confidence among fans. But there was progress in some areas in those games. If Stanford can defeat Pitt it gives the Cardinal a better narrative for the season and avoids a second straight year with five losses, which is something that was hard to imagine happening during the first three seasons under Shaw. Those ended in ether the Fiesta Bowl (2011) or Rose Bowl (2012-13).
