I've seen the phrase "fool's gold" used when questioning whether or not this 2024 is actually a good team. Specifically, I saw the 2006 season referenced as a comparison.
That team opened the year 6-1 with wins against UVA (who went 5-7), Cincinnati (8-5), the Citadel (5-6), Toledo (5-7), Syracuse (4-8), and UCF (4-8). That's a combined record of 31-41. Pitt went on to lose to Rutgers (11-2), USF (8-5), UConn (4-8), WVU (11-2), and Louisville (12-1). That's a combined record of 46-18. In other words, for the most part, Pitt beat the bad teams and lost to good teams, i.e., Pitt was decidedly mediocre. (They also lost to Michigan State who went 4-8, which suggests that Pitt was really just a bad team).
While this year still has many games to be played, is Pitt in a similar position to 2006? In terms of schedule, it does seem like the 2024 Panthers have a back-heavy schedule. So far their combined opponents' record is 11-16. Their upcoming opponents' record is 27-10.
Now, obviously the comparison is imperfect: we don't know the final records of this year's opponents. But, so far, I would say that Pitt still has a lot to prove in terms of opponents faced. I'm not saying Pitt isn't good this year, only that it's possible they haven't really played a truly good team yet. WVU looks like they can have a decent season, but otherwise the other teams are either mediocre (Cincy, UNC), FCS (YSU) or just plain awful (Kent State). We'll see!
That team opened the year 6-1 with wins against UVA (who went 5-7), Cincinnati (8-5), the Citadel (5-6), Toledo (5-7), Syracuse (4-8), and UCF (4-8). That's a combined record of 31-41. Pitt went on to lose to Rutgers (11-2), USF (8-5), UConn (4-8), WVU (11-2), and Louisville (12-1). That's a combined record of 46-18. In other words, for the most part, Pitt beat the bad teams and lost to good teams, i.e., Pitt was decidedly mediocre. (They also lost to Michigan State who went 4-8, which suggests that Pitt was really just a bad team).
While this year still has many games to be played, is Pitt in a similar position to 2006? In terms of schedule, it does seem like the 2024 Panthers have a back-heavy schedule. So far their combined opponents' record is 11-16. Their upcoming opponents' record is 27-10.
Now, obviously the comparison is imperfect: we don't know the final records of this year's opponents. But, so far, I would say that Pitt still has a lot to prove in terms of opponents faced. I'm not saying Pitt isn't good this year, only that it's possible they haven't really played a truly good team yet. WVU looks like they can have a decent season, but otherwise the other teams are either mediocre (Cincy, UNC), FCS (YSU) or just plain awful (Kent State). We'll see!
