The most underrated college football team from every Power 5 conference

Underrated college football team from the ACC: Pittsburgh Panthers

Last season, the Pittsburgh Panthers played upset in the two matchups they had against ranked teams. They took Penn State down to the wire, then the next week they ended UCF’s undefeated streak on their home turf. That seems like an eternity ago, and the Panthers lost their last two regular-season games of the season before winning a pointless bowl game.

Pitt goes into this season with insane odds to win the ACC. If you’re not picking Clemson, then you should pick a wild long shot. The Panthers are currently +4000, meaning for every $100 you bet, you win $4,000. If you’re betting against Dabo Swinney and Trevor Lawrence, this is what you’ll need to win for guessing right.

The Panthers are returning an insane 17 starters this season. This includes three first-team All ACC players in safety Paris Ford, center Jimmy Morrissey and defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman. They also return quarterback Kenny Pickett.

Mark Whipple’s offensive system is more in place in his second season in the job and Pickett is in his third year as starter. His experience is going to be what drives the Panthers this season.

The scary part about this bet is the schedule. Of all their important ACC games, they only get Virginia Tech at home. Miami, North Carolina, Florida State, and Virginia are all on the road. That’s a beast of a schedule, but the experience they have on this team, and the likelihood that home games won’t be as important with social distancing guidelines could help them make it all the way to the ACC Championship Game. Maybe they can find some of that upset magic they had last season.