The Panthers sit atop the ACC Coastal division after a weekend in which everything seemed to break their way. Pitt stormed into Charlottesville, VA on Friday night and ran all over the no. 23 Cavaliers, securing their first road victory of the year and vaulting past them in the ACC Coastal standings. Senior running back Darrin Hall stepped into the feature back role for a banged up Qadree Ollison and racked up over 200 yards and 3 scores while the Pitt defense stepped up holding Virginia to just one touchdown and a season low 13 points.
The win put the Panthers in first place, a half game ahead of Virginia Tech, who would play Saturday night at home versus a ranked Boston College squad. BC did their part, beating VT 31-21 and ensuring that Pitt would end the weekend fully entrenched atop the Coastal. Even better, with Miami losing at home to Duke, the Panthers path to the ACC Championship game is clear: beat Virginia Tech at home on Saturday and beat Wake Forest the following week. Do that and the final game in Miami becomes largely irrelevant. Maybe Narduzzi’s proclamation wasn’t so crazy after all?
Seth Walder, ESPN Analytics: Pitt is now the favorite to win the ACC Coastal, with a 47% chance, per FPI. The Panthers are trailed by Virginia Tech (18%), Virginia (13%), Miami (13%), and Georgia Tech (9%).
Pitt received 0 votes in the AP Top 25, despite having a win over (now) #13 Syracuse, Duke, which received 4 votes and an away victory over a ranked (at the time) Virginia team. In the coaches poll, Pitt received 10 votes.
The Panthers have moved up to 62nd in ESPN’s FPI rankings and now have a projected win total of 6.1. Also impressive: their offense ranks 30th in efficiency. However, ESPN’s projections still only give the team a 46.4% chance at home versus Virginia Tech and 49.5% the following week at Wake Forest.
In the S&P+, Pitt moves up nine spots to 71st. Ahead of Pitt in the ACC Coastal: Miami at #19, Duke at #44, Virginia at #48, Georgia Tech at #60 and Virginia Tech at #61.
ACC BEAT
Clemson sits at a perfect 9-0, #2 in the country, Syracuse, Boston College and NC State are all ranked in both the AP and Coaches polls … Wake Forest lost their starting quarterback for the season on Saturday … Florida State’s consecutive bowl streak is in serious doubt after another loss.
