ESPN.com says pass defense Pitt's weakness in 2017

Pitt managed to win eight regular season games last year despite one of the worst pass defenses in the nation. And while there's really only one place to go (up), it's still a massive question mark for 2017.

ESPN put together a list of all of the reasons why each ACC team won't win the conference title in this year. And, surprise, the Panthers' secondary is what they say will keep them from contending:

The good news is, the pass defense can’t be any worse. The bad news is, it’s going to need to be a lot better if Pitt wants to win the ACC in 2017. Of course, as bad as things were last year, Pitt was the only team to knock off Clemson in 2016, so maybe those ACC championship hopes aren’t so crazy. It’s just tough to get excited about a defense that allowed 35 points or more seven times last season, including 61 points to Syracuse.

Not a surprise and my guess is that most fans would say the same. To get much better secondary play, Pitt will need the younger guys to step up and make plays. And that, right now, is certainly no given.

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