Pitt returns perhaps the best offensive line in the ACC and a backfield brimming with talent and depth.

It is no secret the Panthers are going to run the ball this season. But it is the way in which they run the ball that sets them apart in the league.

Pitt has taken an old-school approach that is more Big Ten than ACC, resurrected under Paul Chryst in 2012 and now carried forward under Pat Narduzzi. Their Big Ten backgrounds clearly influenced their philosophies, not to mention the persona of Pittsburgh itself.

That is not to say the Panthers value the run any more than the teams that now employ hurry-up spread offenses. To the contrary, Clemson and North Carolina had better run offenses than Pitt last season -- they happen to run the ball out of different sets (and running quarterbacks to spread the field).

Neither Clemson nor North Carolina lists a fullback on its depth chart. Pitt routinely goes with a two-back set (or two tight ends, depending on the situation). It is power football at its core, and if you ask Narduzzi why he has opted for this offensive style, he shrugs and says, “That’s what we’ve done for years wherever I’ve been. Run the ball, stop the run.”

But why, specifically, a power run offense as opposed to the spread?

“Because it’s that mentality,” Narduzzi said. “The great thing about it is, people don’t get used to defending it. People aren’t used to defending a two-back set. We’re like Paul Johnson’s option offense. We’re the minority as far as offenses go, so that’s something to look at.”

Narduzzi believes that gives his team an edge, because opponents are not used to practicing against power-type offenses. “How many teams out there are going to see anybody line up in a two-back and try to run power at you? Nobody. So when they see that, it becomes foreign to them,” Narduzzi said.

Not to mention the edge Pitt players believe that gives them in the fourth quarter, when they want to continue to run straight at teams, but with fresh backs thanks to their depth. Two 1,000-yard backs return: James Conner and Qadree Ollison, not to mention Rachid Ibrahim (off an Achilles injury) and Darrin Hall.

New offensive coordinator Matt Canada is not expected to change the philosophy, though the running backs could be used more as receivers out of the backfield as a possible new wrinkle. At NC State, his offenses averaged more than 200 yards rushing per game and tight end Jaylen Samuels became an All-ACC player. Plus Canada's offensive line in his final season with the Wolfpack was one of the strongest in the league.

“There has always been the tradition of smashmouth football, running it down people’s throats, then we pass it,” Ibrahim said recently. “Coach Canada came here and we’ve got a lot of faith in what he’s done and what he’s bringing to Pitt.”

Nobody else in the Coastal Division does quite what Pitt does. Georgia Tech runs the ball, yes, but Johnson uses a completely different scheme. Miami could end up with more of a power run game if Mark Richt’s background at Georgia is any indication. North Carolina runs the spread; Virginia Tech is transitioning that way. Duke has steadily improved its run game (the Blue Devils have had mobile quarterbacks), while Virginia remains somewhat of a mystery.

As for whether the mixed bag of offenses makes preparing for the more unique ones any more demanding, North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said, “Been doing that every year with Paul Johnson. Now we have to do it with Pitt. Pat comes in there in a year and does a really good job with them in that one year and they’re going to be better this year, and they’re going to run the ball at you and they’re going to stick it right down your throat.”