Last year, the Panthers finished the regular season at 6-6 for the fourth consecutive year. That team, like the others before it under Paul Chryst and Todd Graham, was the height of mediocrity. The two biggest reasons for that were the disappointing losses as well as the ones where the team couldn't quite finish. Pitt would occasionally knock off a better opponent, but as a whole, the bad losses balanced things out and kept the program from taking meaningful strides forward. Those trademark losses, if nothing else, really defined Pitt football since the exit of Dave Wannstedt.
Consider the following:
In 2014, Pitt dropped a game to Akron, collapsed in the bowl game against Houston, and was 1-5 in games decided by five points or less.