Our sports historian friend John Baranowski has submitted this opinion piece on Pitt’s 2016 regular season for our reading enjoyment…
Pitt football fans will tell you that the 2016 season was a successful one, and in many ways it was. An optimist will also tell you that Notre Dame is the best 4-8 team in the country. However, the 2016 season for Pitt football, despite its apparent success, was also one of lost opportunity.
Pitt had their most prolific scoring season ever, scoring a school record 508 points which averages out to be a record 42.3 points per game. That equates to the 10th highest nationally in 2016. Yet in a season where Pitt beat two current top five teams and never scored fewer than 28 points in a game, we somehow managed to still lose four games and give up 427 points, the third most in school history with the Pinstripe Bowl yet to be played.
The 427 points surrendered is third highest in Pitt history behind only 1992 when 429 points were given up in that 3-9 season, and in 1996 when 430 points were allowed in a 4-7 year.
Continue reading “POV: A Winning Season; A Lost Opportunity”
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