2022 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

2022 Pittsburgh Panthers football
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Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Record	4–2 (1–1 ACC)
Head coach	Pat Narduzzi (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Frank Cignetti Jr. (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Randy Bates (5th season)
Home stadium	Acrisure Stadium (capacity: 68,400)
Uniform
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2022 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 4 Clemson		4	–	0					6	–	0
No. 18 Syracuse		2	–	0					5	–	0
Florida State		2	–	2					4	–	2
No. 15 NC State		1	–	1					5	–	1
No. 14 Wake Forest		1	–	1					5	–	1
Boston College		1	–	3					2	–	4
Louisville		1	–	3					3	–	3
Coastal Division
North Carolina		2	–	0					5	–	1
Georgia Tech		2	–	1					3	–	3
Duke		1	–	1					4	–	2
Pittsburgh		1	–	1					4	–	2
Virginia Tech		1	–	2					2	–	4
Miami (FL)		0	–	1					2	–	3
Virginia		0	–	3					2	–	4
Championship: December 3, 2022
As of July 29, 2024; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2022 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represents the University of Pittsburgh in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers are led by eighth-year head coach Pat Narduzzi and play their home games at Acrisure Stadium. They are competing as a member of the Coastal Division in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). This is Pitt's tenth season as a member of the ACC.

Previous season

1. REDIRECT Template:Main

• This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name. For more information follow the bold category link.

The Panthers finished the 2021 Season with an 11–3 record, and a 7–1 conference record. Pitt won the Coastal Division of the ACC. The Panthers won their first ever ACC Championship with a win over Wake Forest, 45–21. Pitt would lose their bowl game, the Peach Bowl, against Michigan State 31–21 to end the season.

Offseason

2022 NFL Draft

Main article: 2022 NFL Draft

Pitt players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
1	20	Kenny Pickett	QB	Pittsburgh Steelers
4	115	Damarri Mathis	CB	Denver Broncos

Undrafted NFL free agents

Player	Position	NFL Club
Cal Adomitis	LS	Cincinnati Bengals
Lucas Krull	TE	New Orleans Saints
Taysir Mack	WR	San Francisco 49ers

Recruiting class

The Panthers have signed a total of 12 student-athletes on Early National Signing Day (December 2021)

Recruits

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ryan Baer OT	Eastlake, OH	North High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	320 lb (150 kg)	Aug 5, 2021
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 80
Samuel Okunlola DE	Brockton, MA	Thayer Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Dec 15, 2021
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 77
Jimmy Scott DE	Athol Springs, NY	Saint Francis High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Jun 14, 2021
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 74
Jordaan Bailey RB	Tampa, FL	Hillsborough High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Dec 15, 2021
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 77
Ryland Gandy CB	Buford, GA	Buford High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jun 16, 2021
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 80
Che Nwabuko ATH	Manor, TX	Manor High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 27, 2020
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 62  247Sports: 64
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Position key

Back

B

Center

C

Cornerback

CB

Defensive back

DB

Defensive end

DE

Defensive lineman

DL

Defensive tackle

DT

End

E

Fullback

FB

Place Kicker

PK

Guard

G

Halfback

HB

Kicker

K

Kickoff returner

KR

Offensive tackle

OT

Offensive lineman

OL

Linebacker

LB

Long snapper

LS

Split end

SE

Punter

P

Punt returner

PR

Quarterback

QB

Running back

RB

Safety

S

Tight end

TE

Wide receiver

WR

Transfers

Incoming

Name	No.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Prev. school
Konta Mumpfield	#14	WR	6'0	174	Freshman	Dacula, GA	Akron
Kedon Slovis	#9	QB	6'2	200	Junior	Scottsdale, AZ	USC
Ryan Jacoby	#61	OT	6'5	270	Sophomore	Mentor, OH	Ohio State

Coaching staff

2022 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff

Coaching Staff Pat Narduzzi – Head Coach Charlie Partridge – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line Frank Cignetti Jr. – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Randy Bates – Defensive Coordinator Andre Powell – Running Backs/Special Teams Dave Borbely – Offensive Line Archie Collins – Secondary Ryan Manalac – Linebackers Tiquan Underwood – Wide Receivers/Passing Game Coordinator Tim Salem – Tight Ends Cory Sanders – Safeties

Game summaries

vs. West Virginia

See also: 2022 West Virginia Mountaineers football team and Backyard Brawl

West Virginia Mountaineers (0-0) vs No. 17 Pittsburgh Panthers (0-0) – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mountaineers	0	10	7	14	31
No. 17 Panthers	3	7	14	14	38

at Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: September 1
• Game time: 7:00 P.M EST/ 4:00 P.M. PST
• Game attendance: 70,622
• Referee: David Alvarez
• TV announcers (ESPN): Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Louis Riddick (analyst), Harry Lyles Jr. (Field Reporter)

Game information

First Quarter (0:37) PITT – Ben Sauls 42 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 6:48; PITT 3–0) Second Quarter (12:45) WVU – Bryce Ford-Wheaton 10 yard pass from JT Daniels, Casey Legg kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:52; WVU 7–3) (3:23) PITT – Rodney Hammond Jr. 4 yard run, Ben Sauls kick (Drive: 6 plays, 35 yards, 2:52; PITT 10–7) (0:00) WVU – Casey Legg 24 yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 74 yards, 3:17; Tied 10–10) Third Quarter (13:08) WVU – C.J. Donaldson 5 yard run, Casey Legg kick (Drive: 1 play, 5 yards, 0:08; WVU 17–10) (5:54) PITT – Daniel Carter 1 yard run, Ben Sauls kick (Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 1:32; Tied 17–17) (3:42) PITT – Rodney Hammond Jr. 11 yard run, Ben Sauls kick (Drive: 3 plays, 62 yards, 1:26; PITT 24–17) Fourth Quarter (14:52) WVU – Bryce Ford-Wheaton 16 yard pass from JT Daniels, Casey Legg kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:50; Tied 24–24) (10:37) WVU – JT Daniels 1 yard run, Casey Legg kick (Drive: 6 play, 72 yards, 1:14; WVU 31–24) (3:41) PITT – Israel Abanikanda 24 yard pass from Kedon Slovis, Ben Sauls kick (Drive: 7 plays, 92 yards, 2:29; Tied 31–31) (2:58) PITT – M.J. Devonshire 56 interception return, Ben Sauls kick (Drive: 1 play, 56 yards, 0:13; PITT 38–31)

Statistics	WVU	PITT
First downs	22	20
Total yards	404	384
Rushes/yards	34–190	39–76
Passing yards	214	308
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	23–40–1	16–24–0
Time of possession	27:29	32:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
West Virginia	Passing	JT Daniels	23–40, 214 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	C.J. Donaldson	7 carries, 125 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Bryce Ford-Wheaton	9 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD
Pittsburgh	Passing	Kedon Slovis	16–24, 308 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Rodney Hammond Jr.	16 carries, 74 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jared Wayne	3 receptions, 89 yards

vs. No. 24 Tennessee

See also: 2022 Tennessee Volunteers football team

No. 24 Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) vs No. 17 Pittsburgh Panthers (1-0) – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 24 Volunteers	7	17	0	3	7	34
No. 17 Panthers	10	7	0	10	0	27

at Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: September 10
• Game time: 3:30 P.M EST/ 12:30 P.M. PST
• Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C)
• Game attendance: 59,785
• Referee: Jason Autrey
• TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Molly McGrath (Field Reporter)

Game information

First Quarter (10:27) PITT – Ben Sauls 30 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 43 yards, 3:58; PITT 3–0) (9:00) PITT – Israel Abanikanda 76 yard rush, Ben Sauls kick (Drive: 1 play, 76 yards, 0:13; PITT 10–0) (1:02) TEN – Jabari Small 1 yard rush, Chase McGrath kick (Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 3:14; PITT 10–7) Second Quarter (13:25) PITT – Gavin Bartholomew 57 yard pass from Kedon Slovis, Ben Sauls kick (Drive: 6 plays, 83 yards, 2:32; PITT 17–7) (10:04) TEN – Bru McCoy 32 yard pass from Hendon Hooker, Chase McGrath kick (Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 3:13; PITT 17–14) (4:56) TEN – Jabari Small 1 yard rush, Chase McGrath kick (Drive: 3 plays, 66 yards, 0:35; TEN 21–17) (0:00) TEN – Chase McGrath 37 yard field goal (Drive: 3 plays, 8 yards, 0:10; TEN 24–17) Fourth Quarter (14:07) PITT – Ben Sauls 35 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 27 yards, 5:13; TEN 24–20) (8:57) TEN – Chase McGrath 51 yard field goal (Drive: 15 plays, 41 yards, 5:10; TEN 27–20) (2:23) PITT – Jared Wayne 4 yard pass from Nick Patti, Ben Sauls kick (Drive: 10 plays, 35 yards, 5:05; Tie 27–27) Overtime (0:00) TEN – Cedric Tillman 28 yard pass from Hendon Hooker, Chase McGrath kick (Drive: 2 plays, 25 yards, 0:00; TEN 34–27)

Statistics	TEN	PITT
First downs	20	21
Total yards	416	415
Rushes/yards	33–91	39–141
Passing yards	325	274
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	27–42–0	23–44–1
Time of possession	25:05	34:55

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing	Hendon Hooker	27–42, 325 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Jaylen Wright	9 carries, 47 yards
	Receiving	Cedric Tillman	9 receptions, 162 yards, 1 TD
Pittsburgh	Passing	Kedon Slovis	14–24, 195 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Israel Abanikanda	25 carries, 154 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Gavin Bartholomew	5 receptions, 84 yards, 1 TD

at Western Michigan

See also: 2022 Western Michigan Broncos football team

No. 23 Pittsburgh Panthers (1-1) vs Western Michigan Broncos (1-1) – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Panthers	10	3	7	14	34
Broncos	3	3	7	0	13

at Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI

• Date: September 17th
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST
• Game weather: Temperature: 80 °F (27 °C) • Wind: SW at 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 22,875
• Referee: Jerry Magallanes
• TV announcers (ESPNU): Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), Dawn Davenport (field reporter)

vs. No. 20 (FCS) Rhode Island

See also: 2022 Rhode Island Rams football team

No. 20 Rhode Island Rams (2-1) vs No. 24 Pittsburgh Panthers (2-1) – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
No 20 Rams	7	7	3	7	24
No. 24 Panthers	14	10	7	14	45

at Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: Saturday 24th
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST/9:00 a.m. PST
• Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: S at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 54,667
• Referee: Stuart Mullins
• TV: ACCN

vs. Georgia Tech

See also: 2022 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-3) vs No. 24 Pittsburgh Panthers (3-1) – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Yellow Jackets	3	3	3	17	26
No. 24 Panthers	0	7	0	14	21

at Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: October 1
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: Temperature: 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind: N at 9 miles per hour (14 km/h) • Weather: Rain
• Game attendance: 46,972
• Referee: Gary Patterson
• TV: ACCN

vs. Virginia Tech

See also: 2022 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

Virginia Tech Hokies (2-3) vs Pittsburgh Panthers (3-2) – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	0	0	0	0	0
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0

at Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: October 8
• Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m. PST
• Game weather: Temperature:
• TV: ACCN

Rankings

Further information: 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	17	17	23	24	24	NR	NR
Coaches'	16	14	25	RV	24	RV	RV
CFP	Not released															Not released