After reading USA Today's college football preview, it is very hard to not get optimistic about the 2015 schedule for Pitt.
USA Today thinks Pitt has the players most likely to have 1000 yards receiving and 1500 yards rushing in the conference... they think VT and FSU are the most likely to have a let down... I also noticed in the Sagarin ratings Pitt is ranked number 45 which is a lot better than the 59 USA Today ranks Pitt.
All of this got me thinking about the rest of the conference...
- I don't think there is any doubt that Clemson and FSU are the best two teams... but Pitt doesn't play either
- I don't see much that scares me at Duke.. I think they drop down to reality in 2015 - as in they could struggle to get six wins based on their schedule.
- Virgina should be just terrible again
- There seems to be a lot of people saying VT is not very good. I really liked a number of their young guys last year. If Pitt can win this game they are going to be in the hunt all year
- I also think Georgia Tech will come way down in 2015. They will be 3-3 when they play Pitt
- I could see North Carolina making some noise. They have a pretty reasonable schedule other than playing South Carolina first, and that wouldn't hurt them in ACC standings anyway.
- The team that worries me the most is Miami but their schedule is very tough. They have two good non conference games vs Nebraska and at Cincinnati (Who is projected to win the AAC) before heading to play at FSU October 10 then they are home vs VT and Clemson. By the time they play Pitt in the final game of the year they will have ran quite the gauntlet. They could be playing for the conference or completely have given up based on the early season struggles.
- One team that will make noise is NCST. They have probably have 7 sure wins on their schedule already. They could hit 9 wins with even a decent year.
- I am going to include Notre Dame because they do steal bowl spots from the ACC. I think they have a future star in their QB Malik Zaire. They kickoff the year versus Texas at Notre Dame and play GT, Clemson, USC, Pitt, and Stanford this year. I wouldn't be shocked to see them win 10 games.
Overall I think Pitt could win the Coastal. I think it is a very realistic possibility based on the matchups. Pitt has a horribly unbalanced schedule with five of their first seven games away, but that gives them a nice advantage down the stretch. 5-2 or 6-1 before they play UNC at home is a real possibility but 4-3 would be par for the course lately. I would guess Pitt is favorites in four games and dogs or even in the other three. As I look at the schedule, I think the Louisville game will be a huge factor for Pitt and how the season is viewed. Either it is the game that gets Pitt over the 6 win hump or the game that decides if the Miami game the following week is for the Coastal Championship.
USA Today thinks Pitt has the players most likely to have 1000 yards receiving and 1500 yards rushing in the conference... they think VT and FSU are the most likely to have a let down... I also noticed in the Sagarin ratings Pitt is ranked number 45 which is a lot better than the 59 USA Today ranks Pitt.
All of this got me thinking about the rest of the conference...
- I don't think there is any doubt that Clemson and FSU are the best two teams... but Pitt doesn't play either
- I don't see much that scares me at Duke.. I think they drop down to reality in 2015 - as in they could struggle to get six wins based on their schedule.
- Virgina should be just terrible again
- There seems to be a lot of people saying VT is not very good. I really liked a number of their young guys last year. If Pitt can win this game they are going to be in the hunt all year
- I also think Georgia Tech will come way down in 2015. They will be 3-3 when they play Pitt
- I could see North Carolina making some noise. They have a pretty reasonable schedule other than playing South Carolina first, and that wouldn't hurt them in ACC standings anyway.
- The team that worries me the most is Miami but their schedule is very tough. They have two good non conference games vs Nebraska and at Cincinnati (Who is projected to win the AAC) before heading to play at FSU October 10 then they are home vs VT and Clemson. By the time they play Pitt in the final game of the year they will have ran quite the gauntlet. They could be playing for the conference or completely have given up based on the early season struggles.
- One team that will make noise is NCST. They have probably have 7 sure wins on their schedule already. They could hit 9 wins with even a decent year.
- I am going to include Notre Dame because they do steal bowl spots from the ACC. I think they have a future star in their QB Malik Zaire. They kickoff the year versus Texas at Notre Dame and play GT, Clemson, USC, Pitt, and Stanford this year. I wouldn't be shocked to see them win 10 games.
Overall I think Pitt could win the Coastal. I think it is a very realistic possibility based on the matchups. Pitt has a horribly unbalanced schedule with five of their first seven games away, but that gives them a nice advantage down the stretch. 5-2 or 6-1 before they play UNC at home is a real possibility but 4-3 would be par for the course lately. I would guess Pitt is favorites in four games and dogs or even in the other three. As I look at the schedule, I think the Louisville game will be a huge factor for Pitt and how the season is viewed. Either it is the game that gets Pitt over the 6 win hump or the game that decides if the Miami game the following week is for the Coastal Championship.
