The Todd Graham era at Pittsburgh lasted less than 12 months. Graham left Pittsburgh after one season to be the Head Coach at Arizona State. Pittsburgh Panthers fans were not fond at all of the way Graham left, and you can?t blame them one bit.
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Big East Conference 2012-2013 College Football Previews: Pitt Panthers
Head Coach: Paul Chryst
2011 Record: 6-7
Pittsburgh Gambling Odds from 5Dimes to win BCS Championship: +55,000
Pittsburgh Gambling Odds from 5Dimes to win Big East Conference: +550
Pitt Team Page ? Players Stats ? Roster ? 2012 Schedule ?>
Graham let his players know he was leaving through a text message forwarded to the team by a football operations director. That left a bad taste in the mouth of the program, but now it is time to turn the page.
Paul Chryst takes over the top spot at Pittsburgh this season. Chryst was the offensive coordinator for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2005 through 2011 before accepting this head coaching position. The team hopes he can bring the smash mouthed football style of the Badgers to Pittsburgh.
Chryst brought several Wisconsin coordinators with him, so don?t be surprised if Pittsburgh turns into a pound it down your throat team. This is a team that needs to find a true identity soon.
Team Strengths:
Ray Graham went down with an injury in the middle of last season, but he is expected to be ready for this year. When healthy, Graham is the best running back in the Big East. Graham is an agile runner who does a great job finding open creases. Isaac Bennett appears ready to share some time in the backfield as well, and he is a real home run hitter out of the backfield. These guys should shine in the new system. 
The Panthers have plenty of talent at the wide receiver spot. Devin Street caught 53 passes in 2011, and he?ll be back for another year with the team. Mike Shanahan came on at the end of last year, and he should be productive as well. Talented youngsters give this unit lots of depth.
Team Weaknesses:
The Panthers secondary is a major question mark heading into the 2012 season. This is a group that experienced a ton of turnover from last season to this season, and they will need to come together as a unit quickly. Don?t be surprised if the Panthers are beaten by the pass quite frequently this year.
Pittsburgh lost their top three offensive linemen from last season. Jim Heuber is a great offensive line coach, and he?ll do a tremendous job at Pittsburgh, but he might not have the talent he needs in 2012.
The linebackers are a mismatched group that has been thrown together after injuries and suspensions have really torn through this unit. Players changing positions as well as tons of inexperience should make Panthers fans nervous about this group.
2012-2013 Pittsburgh Panthers Football Prediction: 7-6
I think Pittsburgh did extremely well to hire Paul Chryst. He did a great job with the Badgers offense, and I think he?ll do very well with this team in the long run. Still, there are a ton of holes right now. I think this team will improve a bit from last year, but it will likely take a year or two more to see major gains.
The team will have an early measuring stick game at home against Virginia Tech on September 15.
2012 Schedule
9/1/12 6:00 PM ET YOUST
9/6/12 8:00 PM ET @CIN
9/15/12 12:00 PM ET VATCH
9/22/12 3:30 PM ET GWEBB
10/5/12 7:00 PM ET @SYR
10/13/12 TBD LOU
10/20/12 3:30 PM ET @BUFF
10/27/12 TBD TEM
11/3/12 3:30 PM ET @NOTRE
11/9/12 8:00 PM ET @CONN
11/24/12 TBD RUTG
12/1/12 TBD @SOFLA
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