In advance of the 2018 Pitt football season, I’m going to go game by game through the schedule and take a look at the teams the Panthers will be playing. I will also give what percent chance I think that Pitt has of winning the game as of right now and a non-binding score prediction. There will be more in-depth preview articles during the week of each of these games itself with updated win odds and score prediction. Doing this now will lead up to my final record prediction for the season. For now though, I’ll give how I see the first half of the schedule shaking out.

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September 1 – Albany

All-time Record: 0-0

Last Meeting: N/A

Pitt opens the 2018 season against Albany of the Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA). This will be the first time the Panthers will ever play the Great Danes, who are led by former Pitt assistant Greg Gattuso. Pitt has a history of having a surprisingly hard time against FCS opponents, notably losing to Youngstown State in 2012 on top of several other close calls over the years. Despite this, at first glance Pitt should have no trouble with Albany. They went 4-7 in 2017 and were picked to finish 9th in the 12 team CAA.

The Pitt defense will need to be wary of a couple of dangerous players in Wide Receiver/Punt Returner Donovan McDonald, who Gattuso called “…the most dynamic guy in the conference”, and Running Back Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks, who will be looking to make a comeback after missing most of 2017 with injuries. On the other side of the ball, Albany’s strength will likely be on the Defensive Line. Despite this, there’s a reason Albany is picked to finish towards the bottom of their conference. They have a young Offensive Line and lost several key defensive contributors to graduation and injuries. On top of that, there is uncertainty at Quarterback, with a battle currently taking place at Fall Camp between Will Brunson and Vincent Testaverde (with Nyc Burns also in the mix).

Albany does have the potential to catch the Panthers napping with a dynamic returner and stout Defensive Line. Despite this, I would be very surprised if Pitt’s talent doesn’t allow them to cruise to an easy win to open the season. I will give Albany a 5% chance of winning due to the aforementioned reasons and the greater potential for a team to be caught unprepared that is often seen in any early season matchup.

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