Pitt's offense has been a bit of a mixed bag this year and facing the fifth-ranked defense in the FBS, there have to be questions about their effectiveness in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl game on Thursday.
Despite some offensive outbursts this year, Pitt's offense comes into the game ranking near the bottom of the FBS at 86th overall scoring 26 points a game. And when you look at what they've been able to do against some of the better defenses they've faced, you have to wonder how many points they'll produce in the bowl.
Against Florida State's No. 1 ranked defense, they scored only 13 points. Against Virginia Tech's No. 8 defense, they mustered only nine points. Against Georgia Tech's 30th ranked D, they scored only ten. They also struggled against Virginia's not-so-great 99th ranked defense, scoring only 14 points that came as the result of two turnovers on short fields.
That's no guarantee the Panthers won't be able to score, though. Bowling Green's defense hasn't been so lights out against the better teams on their schedule. Indiana scored a whopping 42 points against them earlier this year. Mississippi State scored 21, Toledo 28, and Northern Illinois 27. The Falcons are a less menacing 2-3 when they've given up at least 20 points this year. The bottom line is that if Pitt reaches at least 20 points, their chances to win significantly improve.
Still, the offense has been good at times but hasn't done much of anything against the better defenses they've faced. Points could be difficult to come by for them on Thursday and scoring at least 20 might not be all that easy.
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