{"id":5079,"date":"2017-01-04T09:01:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-04T14:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=5079"},"modified":"2018-01-08T12:24:26","modified_gmt":"2018-01-08T17:24:26","slug":"pitt-panthers-season-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2017\/01\/04\/pitt-panthers-season-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Pitt Panthers Season Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pitt Panthers<\/strong>\u00a0had one of the best seasons of any college football team. They finished with eight wins and have looked much better than that. They have a few signature wins that show they are a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n

Pitt Panthers Season Review<\/h2>\n

Pitt’s first win came off the field. Running back James Connor<\/strong> was cleared to play after overcoming Hodgkin Lymphoma. That was a sigh of relief for his family and his teammates. He’s proved to be a big part of their success in 2016, as well. Connor rushed for 1,092 yards and 16 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

The team as a whole has also been very successful. They first made headlines when they knocked off in-state rival Penn State<\/strong> in Week 2. No one knew it yet, but that would prove to be a huge win in college football this season.<\/p>\n

They were also able to keep it close with Oklahoma State<\/strong>, one of the most extraordinary teams in the nation this year. They were also able to keep it close against Mitch Trubisky<\/a><\/strong> and North Carolina<\/strong>, losing by just one point. The Panthers finished the month of September with a 2-2 record. Good things were still to come.<\/p>\n

Pitt kicked off October with a three-game winning streak. They now sat at 5-2. If they could keep it up, they would see themselves in the ACC Championship game in December.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, they were not able to keep it up. They went on to lose their next two games, including a 51-28 loss to Miami<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A huge win for this Pitt team was a win over the second-ranked team in the nation in Clemson<\/strong>. Not only did they upset the Tigers, but they were able to pull it off on the road.<\/p>\n

That win over Clemson clicked something for the Panthers. They would finish the season with two big wins. They even scored 76 points in a win over Syracuse<\/strong>, the most points scored by an FBS team this season.<\/p>\n

Pitt finished the season with an 8-4 record. They were on their way to take on Northwestern<\/strong> in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Pitt Falls to\u00a0Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl<\/h2>\n

The game went back and forth between both teams. Pitt had committed three turnovers, but it was still a one score game with under two minutes. The fourth turnover of the game sealed Pitt’s fate. They lost to Northwestern by a final score of 31-24.<\/p>\n

Turnovers weren’t the only problem for Pitt in this game, however. The defense was unable to stop Northwestern running back Justin Jackson<\/a><\/strong>. He rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Another issue that could have affected this game was Connor’s absence. He left the game with injury\u00a0and did not\u00a0return.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t the type of ending the Panthers wanted for their season, but they should still be proud of themselves. They had a very successful season.<\/p>\n

Connor overcame his adversities and rushed for over 1,000 yards. Senior quarterback Nathan Peterman<\/a><\/strong> also had a career year. The Tennessee<\/strong> transfer threw for 2,855 yards and 27 touchdowns to nine interceptions.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n