The Pitt Panthers had a disappointing 2023 season, which is unsurprisingly seeing them rank low in the ACC heading into 2024.
ESPN released their final preseason ranking based on SP+, a metric writer Bill Connelly uses that takes into account returning production, recent recruiting and recent history for each team and then ranks them accordingly.
SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency,” Connelly wrote. “It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and, along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.” Pitt came in at No. 66 in the FBS out 134 programs, with a -0.8 rating, and No. 12 in the ACC out of 17 teams. They rank above Syracuse at No. 67, Boston College at No. 73, Wake Forest at No. 74, Stanford at No. 77 and Virginia at No. 78.
The ACC overall ranks No. 4 out of the nine conferences and last in the Power 4, with the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 taking the top three spots, respectively.
Pitt ranked No. 85 in Offense SP+, No. 43 in Defense SP+ and No. 88 in Special Teams SP+. Pitt also ranked No. 95 in Returning Production, the second lowest in the ACC just ahead of North Carolina, bringing back 55% of their snaps from last season. They bring back 57% of their offensive snaps and 53% of their defense snaps, ranking No. 82 and No. 100 in the FBS, respectively.
The Panthers lost a few starters to the transfer portal in defensive linemen Dayon Hayes and Samuel Okunlola, plus defensive tackle Deandre Jules and linebackers Bangally Kamara and Solomon DeShields. All three cornerbacks, M.J. Devonshire, A.J. Woods and Marquis Williams also graduated as well.