Youngstown State @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2012 ) Youngstown State 31, Pittsburgh 17

With a potent offense and a new coach with a great defensive pedigree, Pittsburgh looks to gain some stability for a program that is working on its fourth head coach in six years and has finished 6-6 in the regular seasons in each of the past four years. The process begins Saturday when Youngstown State visits three years after knocking off the Panthers in the 2012 opener.

Led by junior James Conner, the reigning ACC Player of the Year who ran for 1,765 yards last season and a conference-record 26 touchdowns, Pittsburgh returns eight starters to an offense that averaged 32 points and 435 yards. The Panthers hired away Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who is bringing his style of tough, tenacious defense to a city that identifies with grit and grind. Narduzzi has ties to Youngstown, growing up there and playing for his father at the school. “I have a lot of great memories at Youngstown State,” Narduzzi said this week. "I was a ball boy out there. Just great memories there for eleven seasons with a lot of football and a lot of wins."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: NL

ABOUT YOUNGSTOWN STATE (2014: 7-5): First-year coach Bo Pelini, also a native of Youngstown who played against Narduzzi in high school, was fired last season after seven seasons and a 67-27 record at Nebraska. The Penguins will look to run the ball with Martin Ruiz (1,320 yards, 10 TDs last season) and Jody Webb (736 yards, nine TDs). Sophomore quarterback Hunter Wells returns after completing 59.9 percent of his passes for 1,772 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2014. Defensive end Derek Rivers, a preseason All-American who led the team with 14 sacks and 17 tackles for loss, hopes to help the Penguins improve upon a total of 29 sacks and 14 forced turnovers from a season ago.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (2014: 6-7): Quarterback Chad Voytik completed 61.3 percent of his throws in 2014 with 16 TDs against seven interceptions, but star wideout Tyler Boyd (78 catches for 1,261 yards) will be sitting out the opener due to a one-game suspension. Narduzzi will bring his pressing defensive style in an attempt to improve upon a unit that yielded 26.3 points last season and recorded only 19 sacks. “It's time for them to show up,” Narduzzi said. "I mean our offense was something special a year ago. Defensively, they've got to man up and measure up to what we need to have in this ACC and in the opener against Youngstown.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. While playing for his father Bill, who coached the Penguins from 1975-85 and led the school to the 1979 NCAA Division II national championship game, Narduzzi led the Ohio Valley Conference in tackles as a freshmen in 1985.
2. Voytik posted a 124.5 passer efficiency rating in the first seven games last season and a 160 mark in the final six games with seven TDs against only one interception.
3. Pittsburgh outscored Youngstown State 79-3 in the first two games played in 2005 and 2009 prior to the 31-17 stunner in 2012.

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh 41, Youngstown State 7