Pitt's premiere season in the ACC produced their sixth consecutive trip to a bowl, winning seven games, with two of their three conference wins coming against fellow Big East transplant Syracuse, and beating eventual Coastal Division champion Duke in Durham. This season, the Panthers bring back plenty of offense, minus quarterback Tom Savage and wide receiver Devin Street, but there will be a lot of questions defensively, with the loss of Aaron Donald.
Offense
The offense will now be lead by sophomore Chad Voytik, who was groomed to be the future starter while he learned Paul Chryst's offense last season. He did get some sporadic action last season, going 6-11 for 116 yards, with most of that coming in their bowl game after Savage was injured. He is the most experienced quarterback on the roster, and the backups behind him have thrown a total of three passes in college. In other words, the offensive line will need to keep defenders off of Voytik.
There are no question marks at running back, as that is the strength of the offense. James Conner and Isaac Bennett combined to rush for nearly 1500 yards and 15 touchdowns together last season. Conner, a 230 pound bruising sophomore, ran for 229 yards in the team's bowl game, and ended up with two more rushing yards than Bennett, a 205 pound senior. Behind the two of them, Rachid Ibrahim did see a few carries, as he racked up 136 yards on the ground. With Jaymar Parrish helping block, the Pitt running backs will see plenty of holes to run through.
The loss of Street will be cushioned by yet another sophomore. Tyler Boyd came out of seemingly nowhere to have a monster freshman season. Boyd had 85 receptions for 1174 yards and seven touchdowns. He had five 100 yard receiving games, He averaged 108 yards receiving over the final six games of the season. Those stats were good enough for second team All-ACC last season. Attempting to fill in Street's shoes is Manasseh Garner. The senior was the third leading receiver for the Panthers last season, catching 33 passes for 391 yards. Pitt does throw a lot of two tight end sets on the field, and junior J.P Holtz and sophomore Scott Orndoff will fill those roles.
If Pitt is going to be in contention to be in the ACC title game, there needs to be a massive improvement on the offensive line. Pass blocking was, well, downright offensive last season. The line allowed 43 sacks, which was fourth most allowed. It was still better than the 2011 team that allowed 64 sacks. Four starters return on the line this year, so logically, the sack numbers should be fewer. Artie Rowell returns at center, Adam Bisnowtay and T.J. Clemmings return at tackle, and Matt Rotheram returns at guard. Dorian Johnson, yet another sophomore, fills in the other guard spot.
Defense 
A defense that finished 33rd in total defense returns just five starters, but the biggest loss is all everything Aaron Donald. Donald was a magnet to the quarterback, and his presence will be sorely missed. Only three starters return in the front seven, with one of them being on the line. Senior David Durham is far and away the most experienced member of the line. His 11 starts are eight more than the rest of the defensive line combined. On the other side of the line, sophomore Shakir Soto will fill in, and junior Darryl Render and senior Khaynin Mosley-Smith fill out the starters on the line. The line will need to be better in run support, as Pitt's run defense has regressed the last two years.
Linebacker is where the most experience is at. Two starters, both of whom are seniors, are back, and they were the third and fourth leading tacklers on the team. Anthony Gonzalez was third on the team with 79 tackles, and Todd Thomas had 72 tackles. Sophomore Matt Galambos will have the task of filling in at middle linebacker this season. He did start two games as a freshman, and finished the season with 38 tackles.
The secondary returns two starters, led by the team's second leading tackler and leading interceptor, which is senior Ray Vinopal, who registered 83 tackles and three interceptions, which earned him honorable mention All-ACC honors last season. He will lead the secondary. Terrish Webb will have some big shoes to fill as a sophomore, as he replaces the team's leading tackler, Jason Hendricks. At cornerback, Lafayette Pitts is the other returning starter. He had 44 tackles, and also broke up four passes last season. Trenton Coles will take over at the other cornerback spot, as the original starter, Titus Howard, was suspended for the season.
Special Teams
The good news for Pitt is that their kicker returns. The bad news is that he might have the most unfortunate name in college football. Chris Blewitt was 14-18 on field goals, so I guess you can say he blew it four times. He was 5-6 from beyond 40 yards, and that is a good thing. A lot of kickers tend to struggle from that range. There will be a new punter this year, and freshman Ryan Winslow will handle those duties. The return duties will be handled by two starters. Cornerback Lafayette Pitts will handle the bulk of the kick return duties, and wide receiver Tyler Boyd will handle punt returns.
Schedule
The season opens with Delaware, which should be a win. After facing ACC foe Boston College, the Panthers travel to FIU, before hosting Iowa and Akron at home. In ACC play, the Panthers also get Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Duke, and Syracuse at home, and get Virginia, UNC, and Miami on the road.
Prediction
If you've noticed one thing throughout this preview, it's that Pitt is going to rely on a lot of sophomores, some who did have some extensive playing time as a freshman, and some who played sparingly, if at all, last season. We know Pitt will run the ball well, but in order to really move the ball down the field, the offensive line will have to be better in pass protection. Plus, Chad Voytik will need to be as good as advertised. He'll have the weapons to get the ball to. Defensively is going to be a big question. How will this defense fare without Aaron Donald wreaking havoc? The Coastal Division is wide open, and the Panthers should be in the conversation to win the division. They could win seven or eight games, and be in the mix to win the division, plus get back to a bowl.
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