Game One: Pitt (0-0) vs. Virginia (0-0), Saturday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Series Record: Pitt 8-3

Last Game: Pitt won 23-13 (2018)

Pitt football begins their 130th season of play against ACC foe Virginia this Saturday night at Heinz Field. It also serves as the beginning of the defense of their Coastal Division title and could make or break their hopes of repeating right off the bat, as the Cavaliers are considered a contender to win it this year. Last year’s matchup between the two teams in Charlottesville proved to be something of a watershed moment for both teams. Going into the game Virginia was 6-2 and controlled their destiny to win the division title. Instead Pitt pulled away in the 2nd half of a low-scoring game and went on to win it themselves. The Hoos will be out for revenge this year and with legitimate aspirations to take the Panthers place in Charlotte the first Saturday of December, it will be a real battle to start off the season on a winning note.

Offense

To put it simply, the Virginia offense revolves around Quarterback Bryce Perkins. The Senior transferred into the program last year and made quite the impression, earning 3rd Team All-ACC honors. A true dual threat, Perkins is a mobile Quarterback that is a deadly effective passer. He put up 2,680 yards through the air last year and completed 64.5% of his passes. He also had an impressive 25 Touchdowns to only 9 Interceptions. Despite this, the key to stopping the Virginia offense though is to keep him contained in the pocket, as it is the threat of him taking off that allows him to be such an effective passer. Last season, he was the team’s second leading rusher with 923 yards. The good news though is that Pitt was by far the most effective team at keeping him contained that he faced, as he actually rushed for -7 yards and was sacked 5 times.

As talented and dangerous as Perkins is, there isn’t too much to worry about in the rest of Virginia’s offense. Last season’s rushing and receiving leaders Jordan Ellis and Olamide Zaccheaus have both moved on and there is very little proven production filling in. At Wide Receiver, they do return 3 of the 4 top receivers from last season in Hasise Dubois, Joe Reed, and Terrell Jana. However they barely outproduced Zaccheaus combined, accounting for 1,194 yards between them while he alone accounted for 1,058 yards. They do add a couple of grad transfers in Dejon Brissett and Terrell Chatman though. At Running Back, things are even more desolate, as Jordan Ellis accounted for nearly all of Virginia’s yards from the position. Taking over for him as the primary back will likely be PK Kier who had only 80 yards last season. Filling out the backfield will be Chris Sharp, Lamont Atkins, and Wayne Taulapapa. All told, the entire position only had 141 yards on the ground last season.

Tight Ends aren’t utilized very much in Virginia’s offensive scheme, but even that spot saw a lost starter. The primary guy there last year, Evan Butts, is gone and taking over for him is Tanner Cowley. The Senior has only appeared in 8 games in his college career and has only recorded 6 receptions for 84 yards. He’ll be used primarily as a blocking Tight End and likely won’t show up much on the statsheet, despite being the starter. Speaking of blocking, the Offensive Line is one area where there is consistency on this side of the ball for the Cavaliers. 3 starters return from last year’s unit, though they were dealt a blow when Penn State transfer Alex Gellerstedt, who was supposed to start at Right Tackle, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Overall, the unit is unspectacular but solid, which is all they need to be given the mobility of Perkins.

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