Pitt Football Receives Highest Bowl Projection Yet

Pitt continues to rise in its bowl projections after a perfect start to the 2024 season.

Brett McMurphy of Action Network updated his bowl projections, and Pitt has received its highest projection yet. He slates the Panthers to face off against LSU in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. on Jan. 2, 2025. Action Network sets Pitt as an early 11.5-point underdog.

McMurphy still projects Miami to win the ACC, and Clemson to qualify for the College Football Playoff as an at-large.

The Gator Bowl is the sixth-oldest bowl game, held continuously since 1946, and is one of the highest-profile non-New Year’s Six bowls. It’s featured ranked matchups in just about half of its long history.

The Gator Bowl is currently played at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, the third home for the game. The most recent Gator Bowl was won by the ACC, a 38-35 Clemson victory over Kentucky.

Pitt has played in the Gator Bowl three times (1956, 1977 and 1980), and the third-ranked Panthers in 1980 were the highest-ranked squad to play in the bowl game — a 37-9 domination of No. 18 South Carolina.

Pitt is coming off the bye week, and for the first time in a while, the Panthers are undefeated. But Pat Narduzzi certainly isn’t looking ahead to a potential bowl game right now.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Pat Narduzzi said after the YSU win. “You think about it, it’s 4-0, one at a time. North Carolina is the only thing on my mind right now is where we are there. I guess first time in history of Pitt football that we’re undefeated in the preseason (non-conference), and preseason is over now.

“We’re moving to ACC play and North Carolina, they’re on the clock for us, and we’ve got two weeks to prepare and get fresh and get ready to roll.”

Pitt is still 4-0 for the first time since 2000, going undefeated in non-conference play for the first time in program history, and the vibes in Pittsburgh are pretty good — even for Narduzzi.

The Panthers return to action in the first game of ACC play against North Carolina on Oct. 5 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on ESPN2.