Nick Saban names sleeper team in the ACC

ESPN analyst and former Alabama coach Nick Saban dropped a surprise pick in the ACC title race. While front runners like Miami and Florida State are drawing a bunch of media attention, Saban threw a dark-horse contender into the conversation. The legendary coach named the Pittsburgh Panthers as a potential ACC surprise team.

Saban's take

I grew up with 'Beat the Hell out of Pittsburgh.' But Pitt may be one of the sleeper teams in the ACC. I'm rooting for West Virginia to make a big comeback today.
Nick Saban

Saban, of course, grew up in West Virginia and coached for the Mountaineers in 1978 and 1979. He was 0-2 against Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl rivalry. Saban coached defense backs at West Virginia and the opposing passer he faced in his second season at Pitt was Dan Marino.

Pitt's situation

The Panthers have opened the season 2-0 with a pair of definitive victories against FCS Duquesne (61-9) and Central Michigan (45-17). Veteran coach Pat Narduzzi is following a 7-6 season and has started things off well offensively this year under second-year coordinator Kade Bell.

Alabama transfer Eli Holstein has been solid at quarterback, throwing for 519 yards and eight scores in two weeks. Running back Desmond Reid has started slowly this year, but rushed for 962 yards last season and will likely see more action as ACC play continues. The shaky opposing competition has also allowed the Panthers to put up some astonishing defensive stats, like allowing opponents less than one yard per carry so far (72 rushes for 69 yards).

ESPN's FPI is not as optimistic about the Panthers' ACC chances as Saban is. The model gives Pitt just a 2.7% chance to win the ACC and projects a likely 7-5 season for the Panthers. The model only gives Pitt a 59.4% chance at West Virginia today, despite WVU losing starting running back Jahiem White for the season in Week 2. Time will tell if the computers or Saban had this one right.