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| The 10 Greatest Single-Season Performances in Pitt History |  |
Pitt players have been responsible for some of the most memorable individual seasons in college football history. But which are the best? Criteria can vary. Some people think it comes down to cold, hard stats. For others, it's more intangible. With that in mind, we submit for your approval "The 10 Greatest Single-Season Performances in Pitt History." We're certain you have your own opinions and we want to hear them. What Panthers would make your Top 10 list? Share them with us on the Pitt Facebook page or @GoPittFootball on Twitter!
| #10 Running Back Dion Lewis, 2009 |
A lightly recruited 2-star running back, Dion Lewis arrived at Pitt in 2009 shrouded in obscurity. But by the end of his debut season, he was being discussed in the same breath as Tony Dorsett, Curtis Martin and LeSean McCoy. Lewis rushed for a Pitt freshman-record 1,799 yards, surpassing Dorsett's 36-year-old mark of 1,686. He piled up 108 points on 18 touchdowns to break McCoy's freshman scoring mark (90 in 2007). Lewis finished the year as the most decorated freshman in college football.
| #9 Running Back LeSean McCoy, 2008 |
LeSean McCoy was a touchdown machine as a sophomore in 2008. In his final season in a Pitt uniform, "Shady" rushed for 21 touchdowns, second only to Tony Dorsett who ran for 22 TDs during his 1976 Heisman Trophy campaign. McCoy's touchdowns were both plentiful and timely. In his final game at Heinz Field, McCoy scored two touchdowns in the final eight minutes to topple his favorite nemesis, West Virginia, 19-15. McCoy finished the year with 1,488 rushing yards.
| #8 Wide Receiver Antonio Bryant, 2000 |
Antonio Bryant shattered Pitt's single-season receiving yardage record and brought the Biletnikoff Award to Pittsburgh for the first time with a sensational sophomore year. Bryant led the country with 130.2 receiving yards per game, becoming the first Panther to lead a national statistical category since Tony Dorsett was the country's leading rusher in 1976. Bryant finished the 2000 season with 73 catches for 1,457 yards and 13 touchdowns, kick-starting Pitt's burgeoning reputation as "Wide Receiver U."
| #7 Running Back Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, 1987 |
One of college football's most productive--and charismatic--players, Craig Heyward steamrolled to 1,791 yards in 1987 to earn consensus All-America honors and finish fifth in the Heisman balloting. "Ironhead" rushed for more than 100 yards in every game that season, barely missing out on the NCAA rushing title. In the final regular-season game against Kent State at Pitt Stadium, Heyward rushed for 259 yards and three touchdowns. He carried on each of Pitt's first 13 plays, accounting for two entire touchdown drives.
| #6 Defensive End Hugh Green, 1980 |
Hugh Green couldn't hide as a senior in 1980. Despite the coaching staff's best efforts to disguise his alignment, quarterbacks were trained to break the huddle and ask, "Where's Green?" Offenses tried to run away from him but No. 99 still found the ball with alarming frequency--123 tackles and 17 sacks in his final college season. A rare player who impacted the game just by stepping on the field, Green spearheaded arguably Pitt's finest defense ever. The Panthers gave up only 205 yards and 10 points per game en route to an 11-1 record.
| #5 Linebacker Ezekial Gadson, 1987 |
A running back upon arriving at Pitt, Ezekial Gadson found the backfield crowded and ultimately moved to linebacker. The move paid dividends for both Pitt and "Zeke," who was an All-American as a senior in 1987, his only campaign as a full-time starter. Gadson set a single-season Pitt record with an astonishing 24.5 sacks, a mark that still stands 27 years later. He collected 137 tackles on the season, leading a defense that yielded just 12.2 points per game.
| #4 Quarterback Dan Marino, 1981 |
Dan Marino entered 1981 already owning status as one of college football's best quarterbacks but his magical junior season earmarked him for gridiron immortality. Marino passed for 2,876 yards and a school-record 37 touchdowns, leading Pitt to its third consecutive 11-1 record. This was also the year that Marino established his reputation for delivering in the clutch. He ended the season with a legendary performance in the Sugar Bowl, firing a 33-yard touchdown pass in the final minute to rally the Panthers past Georgia, 24-20.
| #3 Defensive Tackle Aaron Donald, 2013 |
Aaron Donald tore up opposing offenses in frightening fashion in 2013. Facing an array of blocking schemes to slow him down, Donald was Pitt's version of the Terminator: a relentless and unstoppable force. He led the nation with 28.5 tackles for loss and added 11 sacks, four forced fumbles and a blocked extra point. Nearly half of his tackles were behind the line of scrimmage. Donald single-handedly added a new wing to Pitt's trophy display, winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award.
| #2 Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald, 2003 |
Midway through Larry Fitzgerald's fabulous 2003 sophomore season, ESPN.com posed the question, "Can anybody cover this guy?" Fitzgerald provided the answer with Xbox-type statistics: 92 catches for 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns in 13 games. Facing double and even triple coverage each week, he still led the nation in receiving yards per game (128.62 avg.) and TD catches. By the end of the season, Fitzgerald had set or tied four NCAA records, eight Big East marks and 11 Pitt records. ESPN.com reached its own conclusion: "Fitzgerald is scary good."
| #1 Running Back Tony Dorsett, 1976 |
Tony Dorsett's senior season is the gold standard for Pitt running backs. In 12 games, Dorsett rushed for 2,150 yards and 22 touchdowns. Over the final seven games of the 1976 season, as Pitt was charging toward the national championship, he averaged 215 yards rushing per game. Having finished fourth in the Heisman balloting as a junior in 1975, Dorsett became Pitt's first Heisman Trophy winner in 1976. He earned 701 of a possible 842 first-place votes for an overall total of 2,357 points, finishing far ahead of second-place finisher Ricky Bell of USC (1,346 points).
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