Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
2 0 1 7 S E A S O N P R E V I E W 2016 RECORD 8-5, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference COACH Pat Narduzzi (16-10 in two sea- sons; career record: same) SERIES RECORD Penn State leads the all-time series against Pitt, 50-43-4, but it has not defeated the Panthers since a 20-17 victory in September 1999. MOST RECENT MEETING The Panthers built a 28-14 halAime lead and with- stood a furious sec- ond-half comeback, outlasting the Nittany Lions, 42-39, on Sept. 10, 2016, at Heinz Field. Pitt totaled 341 rushing yards, which was just enough to overcome >ve touch- downs by Saquon Barkley. EXPECTED STRENGTHS Quadree Hen- derson is primed for a huge season. The 5-foot-8, 190-pound receiver is a ver- satile o@ensive and special teams threat, as evidenced by his performance a year ago, in which he became only the sec- ond player in school history – Tony Dorsett was the >rst – to eclipse 2,000 all-purpose yards in a season. Hender- son had 84 yards rushing and 53 receiv- ing in Pitt's spring game, so it's all-systems-go for the junior from Wilmington, Del. The Panthers have another playmaker in running back Qadree Ollison, who won ACC O@en- sive Rookie of the Year honors two sea- sons ago while replacing the injured James Conner. Conner is now o@ to the NFL, but with Ollison ready to take over, Pitt's back>eld looks to be in good shape. The secondary should be solid, as well, with two-time All-ACC hon- oree Jordan Whitehead back at safety and Avonte Maddox, the team's inter- ception leader the past two seasons, re- turning at boundary cornerback. On special teams, Henderson will be re- turning punts and kicko@s, reprising a role that won him All-America honors last year. POTENTIAL CONCERNS The quarter- back situation is in ?ux aAer Nathan Peterman's graduation. Southern Cal transfer Max Browne is the leading can- didate heading into preseason practice; he surely didn't come 2,500 miles just to hold a clipboard. Browne got o@ to an up-and-down start with the Trojans last year and was replaced by Sam Darnold in week four. We all know how that turned out. What we don't know is whether the 6-5, 230-pounder will be able to revive his career with the Pan- thers. He was a >ve-star prospect com- ing out of Skyline High in Washington state, but he only threw for 650 yards in three seasons at USC. The o@ensive line is another potential issue. Pitt lost two starters to the NFL, and a third, Alex Bookser, was arrested in May on a DUI charge aAer crashing his car following a police chase. It's unclear what kind of disciplinary action Pitt is contemplat- ing, but it's possible that Bookser will miss the Panthers' week two matchup with the Lions. The defensive line is also a concern with three starters gone. And on special teams, Pitt needs a place- kicker following Chris Blewitt's gradua- tion. SCHEDULE The Panthers have a couple of tough nonconference games early in the season, with Penn State and Okla- homa State set for Sept. 9 and 16, re- spectively. But the conference slate could give them a shot at a fast getaway. Their >rst >ve ACC opponents – Geor- gia Tech, Syracuse, North Carolina State, Duke and Virginia – went 11-29 in conference play last season. The pay- back comes in November, as Pitt wraps up with back-to-back games against Virginia Tech and Miami. GAME OF THE YEAR Can a nonconfer- ence game really be considered the year's biggest? If it's at Penn State, then yes, absolutely. The Panthers would love nothing more than to extend their win- ning streak over the Nittany Lions to three games, dealing a major blow to PSU's playo@ bid in week two while at the same time opening the eyes of in- state recruits. They haven't won a game in Beaver Stadium since 1988, so there's that. But they haven't played there since 1999. Most of their current players were toddlers at the time of that most recent visit, and some hadn't even been born, so the history probably doesn't hold a lot of relevance. OUTLOOK Narduzzi came to Pitt with a reputation as a defensive mastermind, having coordinated some of Michigan State's best units before leaving for his >rst head coaching job. But o@ense was Pitt's calling card last year. The Pan- thers averaged 40.9 points per game, and they didn't do it just by lighting up the lesser teams on their schedule. In addition to scoring 42 points on Penn State, they hung 43 on Clemson, be- coming the only team in the country to defeat two opponents that >nished in the top >ve of the College Football Play- o@ rankings. Can they do it again? With Henderson and Ollison back, anything's possible. But a lot will hinge on whether Browne is ready to step into a full-time starting role, and whether the defense starts to look more like those tough-as- nails units that Narduzzi coached in East Lansing and less like the one that surrendered 35.2 points per game last year. –M.H. PITTSBURGH PANTHERS TOP RETURNEES PASSING Ben DiNucci 3 of 9 | 16 yds. | 1 TD | 2 int. RUSHING Quadree Henderson 60 att. | 631 yds. | 5 TD RECEIVING Jester Weah 36 rec. | 870 yds. | 24.2 TD TACKLING Oluwaseun Idowu 38 solo | 36 asst. | 74 total INTERCEPTIONS Avonte Maddox 3 int. | 33 yds. W E E K 2 | S E P T E M B E R 9 | B E A V E R S T A D I U M NARDUZZI