Pitt Receives Middling Ranking from The Athletic Following Week 1

Pitt football still can’t seem to find any love from the Athletic, receiving another middling ranking following a Week 1 win over FCS opponent Wofford at home.

Chris Vannini, a college football writer for the publication, ranked Pitt at No. 60 out of 133 FBS Division I teams heading into Week 2. In terms of the ACC, that would place Pitt at eighth in the conference, with Florida State (No. 2), North Carolina (No. 12), Duke (No. 13), Clemson (No. 21), Louisville (No. 35), NC State (No. 36) and Wake Forest (No. 59) all ahead of them.

Vannini also ranked Pitt behind a number of Group of 5 teams, which indicate teams that are in the American, C-USA, Mountain West, Mid-America (MAC) and Sun Belt conference. Those teams are Tulane (No. 16), Troy (No. 32), Fresno State (No. 40), Wyoming (No. 41), UTSA (No. 44), Western Kentucky (No. 46), SMU (No. 49), Coastal Carolina (No. 55), San Diego State (No. 56), Memphis (No. 57) and Air Force (No. 58).

The Panthers didn’t receive a kind ranking in the preseason either from The Athletic, putting them at No. 59. So, even with a dominant performance, against an FCS team at the least, the Panthers still dropped a place. Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi also earned a “Tier 4” ranking as a coach from Vanini and Bruce Feldman. 

Vanini did acknowledge that Panthers fans didn’t care much for the preseason ranking, but he did provide one stipulation.

“Pitt fans, I know you don’t like your preseason ranking,” Vanini wrote. “Beat Cincinnati this week, and it will change.”

If Pitt does play a great game against Cincinnati in the River City Rivalry this Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m. on the CW network in front of a national audience, then they might rise up the rankings.

The Panthers are also just outside the rankings in the AP and Coaches Polls, respectively.