Cincinnati is second in the nation, Alabama and Ohio State both have losses before they hit double-digit wins and UTSA is in the top 25 for the first time in program history.
This weekend an ACC tilt had Clemson travel to Pitt. Panther quarterback Kenny Pickett is established as one of the best in the nation. Each weekly performance has that "one of the" part drop off a little more, leaving "best in the nation" in the headline.
Each season someone comes from under the radar to improve their draft stock. Last year it was Kyle Trask at Florida. No one believed Josh Allen could come from Wyoming to be a top five pick, having the Buffalo Bills the favorite to win the Super Bowl later this winter.
Clemson was due for a step back after the Trevor Lawrence era ended. An opening-weekend loss to now-top-ranked Georgia was evident when the Tigers failed to reach the endzone. However, with a 27-17 loss the two-time National Champions under Dabo Swinney find themselves at 4-3, but more importantly 3-2 in the ACC Atlantic Division.
Pitt is 6-1 overall and leads the Coastal Division (3-0) by a full game over Virginia (3-2). By the way, the Panthers came in at #23 this week and should easily slide into the top 20 when the new polls are released tomorrow night.
Pickett threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers. The sixth-year senior has a 69% completion rate (nice...yeah, it was low-hanging fruit and I took it), 21 TDs and only one pick. Last season Pickett threw for 2,408 yards in a Covid-shortened campaign. He has 1,934 through six games and four bad defenses left over Pitt’s final five games.
Pitt won the Coastal Division in 2018, then were smacked 42-10 by Clemson, who went on to smack Alabama around in the CFP Championship Game 44-16.
Pickett is already drawing conversation as nearing Dan Marino territory for his body of work at Pitt. The only other quarterback in the last 30 years to make any sort of name at the school was Alex Van Pelt, who is now the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns.
No one is saying Pickett is going to have the same career at the next level as Marino, but no one is saying he couldn’t either. Even as a sixth-year senior Pickett is still only 23. When you normally think of fifth- or sixth-year seniors the first two names you are likely to think of are Brandon Weeden (28 at the time he was drafted) and Chris Weinke (29). Remember though the Weinke enrolled at Florida State when he was 26, while Weeden was 24 when he enrolled at Oklahoma State.
Pickett is already attending Pitt’s Graduate School of Business, having already earned his Bachelor’s degree in marketing.
Pickett’s numbers have the Panthers with the fifth-best passing offense in the country, sporting a 358-yard average. Pitt also averages 48.3 points a game, seventh-best. That number might be a little deceiving, given scoring 51 against UMass, 44 against William & Mary and 77 against New Hampshire. However, 41 against Tennessee, 52 against Georgia Tech, 28 against Virginia Tech and today’s 27 are eye-opening. All four of those teams are hovering right around .500 (VA Tech is 3-4 as the anomaly).
The Panther program is likely to slide back to their place before Pickett’s arrival once he departs. The team would always find just enough wins to make a pre-New Year’s Bowl on ESPN or Fox Sports 1. The 2021 squad just needs to hold serve and they will be playing on New Year’s Day since the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, which was Urban Meyer’s last game before leaving for Florida.
Escaping snow in his final game would be a perfect sendoff for Pickett. He has earned it and the Panther program is long overdue for it.
See how everything comes full circle?
-JC24