It was Coraopolis native Michael Keaton who said, as Bruce Wayne, "Now you wanna get nuts? Come on. Let's get nuts."
Maybe I'm applying the same logic here. Maybe I'm not.
The Phil Jurkovec era begins Sept. 2.
Pitt's third quarterback in three seasons came home to play his final season of college football with the objective of continuing a recent lineage of winning on the South Side.
Pitt has won 20 games over its last two seasons, which is a feat that very few college football programs in America can tout. It also finished 2022 with an Associated Press Top 25 ranking for the second straight season, which is also a feat that few schools can tout.
But how does this continue into 2023?
"Its success the last two years, there's a lot of hard-working people and winners on this team," Jurkovec said on Wednesday. "They won a couple years ago and this past year they had success. Nine wins, that's not where they want to be, which I really like that attitude that they're not happy with nine wins, but they still had a lot of success this past year."
New year, new alignment.
The ACC is forging onward without football divisions beginning in 2023, and Pitt will begin play in this new 3-5-5 format with permanent opponents Syracuse, Boston College, and Virginia Tech on its schedule through 2026.
Pitt's 2023 schedule is as follows:
NONCONFERENCE
Sept. 2: Wofford
Sept. 9: Cincinnati
Sept. 16: at West Virginia
Oct. 28: at Notre Dame
CONFERENCE (Dates TBA)
Home: Boston College, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina
Road: Duke, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Pitt went 4-2 against those opponents this season, with FCS foe Wofford, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Boston College, Wake Forest, and Florida State as the newcomers to the schedule.
Starting off in the nonconference, it is too assertive to believe Pitt could go 4-0?
Wofford should be dispatched of easily, and a home game against Cincinnati -- where Pat Narduzzi once was its defensive coordinator -- with new Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield should favor the Panthers despite the former Louisville coach's familiarity with his counterpart.
That leaves the two road games, which are not easy outs by any measurable stretch.
The Backyard Brawl -- which, if we're honest, should not be played in Week 3 and should be reserved for either the first or final game of the season -- is one of those "throw-the-records-out-of-the-window" games. Judging by last year's thriller on the North Shore, that could go either direction despite recent conversations around Neal Brown's grasp of his program.
That leaves Notre Dame, which rebounded from a horrendous 0-2 start with losses to Ohio State and Marshall to finish 9-4 with wins over North Carolina, BYU, Syracuse, Clemson, and a Gator Bowl victory over South Carolina. That will be Pitt's toughest nonconference matchup on paper, and going to South Bend is never easy for any visitor.
So, perhaps 3-1 with a loss at Notre Dame is more realistic, but I like a potential to sweep the nonconference as more likely than it is not.
Pitt posted a 5-3 record within the ACC last season, which tied for the third-best record within conference games. Four teams finished tied with or ahead of Pitt in ACC play last season: Clemson (8-0 ACC), North Carolina (6-2), Florida State (5-3), and Duke (5-3), and the Panthers will see all of those teams except Clemson in 2023.
I like Pitt as a favorite against Boston College, Louisville, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. The games against Florida State, North Carolina, and a rising Duke have me on the fence.
For now, I'll go with 6-2 in the ACC, with losses to Florida State and North Carolina. That would put the Panthers at 9-3 overall during the regular season.
How would Pitt get there?
THE QUARTERBACK
I wrote about Jurkovec before he committed and signed with Pitt, but I still question just how much of an upgrade he is over Kedon Slovis. Pitt feels like a team which will need its quarterback to, once again, not have to be Kenny Pickett-level great in order for it to be guaranteed success. Rather, Jurkovec will just have to be marginally better than Slovis in an eye-test capacity, which definitely can happen.
The issue is, what is the likelihood of that happening?
THE RECEIVERS
Can Florida transfer Daejon Reynolds, Konata Mumpfield, or Bub Means be a true No. 1 for Jurkovec? Reynolds showed some flashes with his downfield ability, which could help replace the production left by Jared Wayne, but one or both of Mumpfield and Means will have to step up and show more consistency from 2022. They each looked better down the final stretch of the season and looked more comfortable within Frank Cignetti Jr's offense, and with Jurkovec already having experience running such an offense, the transition at quarterback could go smoother than most teams ushering in a new starter.
Also, will Gavin Bartholomew be visible in 2023?
THE RUNNING BACKS
ACC leading rusher Israel Abanikanda is going pro, which leaves the room to Rodney Hammond Jr., C'Bo Flemister, and LSU transfer Derrick Davis Jr.
Hammond broke out when he was healthy last season and showed in the Sun Bowl that he can -- and should -- take over No. 1 duties. Narduzzi even went as far to say after the Sun Bowl that "if he doesn't get hurt, who knows, it may be him opting out and going to the NFL."
The coaching staff has a high amount of confidence in Hammond as a lead back, and understandably so, but Abanikanda is leaving a lot of production off of the field to make up for, especially for a team which was dead-set on running it in 2022 and should lean that way again in 2023.
"We're going to make some great things happen back there," Davis said on Wednesday.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE
Four of Pitt's five starters are gone, leaving Jake Kradel as the only returning starter in 2023.
Despite this, Pitt's offensive line could boast a better season than the one it did in 2022.
Branson Taylor is solidified as the left tackle, Kradel at center, Blake Zubovic at right guard, and Matt Goncalves at right tackle. This unit will once again be an experienced group. The four returners have combined for 77 career starts, including Kradel's 38 and Goncalves' 21. The only starter to shore up is left guard, which could belong to Ryan Jacoby when it's all said and done.
THE DEFENSE
Count 'em up.
Calijah Kancey, Deslin Alexandre, John Morgan, SirVocea Dennis, Tylar Wiltz, Erick Hallett II, and Brandon Hill are gone, leaving many new faces to fill within Randy Bates' defense.
Now, there are plenty of young players set to step up, as we saw in the Sun Bowl. Expect Elliot Donald and Nahki Johnson to earn their shots on the defensive line, Bangally Kamara to take the next step at linebacker alongside a returning Shayne Simon, and for Javon McIntyre and Florida transfer Donovan McMillon to slide in as the starting safeties. While there are quite a few holes to fill, Narduzzi and Charlie Partridge only seem to just reload their defensive line and linebackers rooms, while Archie Collins and Cory Sanders have a solid grasp on their defensive backs.
"I know when I was talking to coach Sanders and coach Collins and them, they have consistently put DBs into the NFL, and they're having high production in the (NFL) right now, and that really excited me," McMillon said Wednesday.
"I know that Sanders, one of the first things we did, we started talking about the defense and going through film and everything. It just shows how aggressive they were, having the countless interceptions they had and being one of the best third-down defenses in the nation, that was something that made me see that as, 'I want to go do that.'"
