Pitt made the second-largest jump in the Associated Press poll Sunday when the Panthers landed at No. 21 after their 21-10 victory Saturday against Syracuse. Pitt (2-0, 1-0 ACC) was ranked 25th last week.
Only Miami, which leapfrogged from No. 17 to No. 12, made a bigger jump.
Next up for Pitt will be No. 24 Louisville on Saturday. The game will be the first matchup of Top 25 teams at Heinz Field since Pitt’s 45-44 loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 5, 2009.
That day, undefeated Cincinnati was ranked No. 5 while Pitt was No. 15. Pitt finished with 10 victories, its only double-digit total in the past 38 years.
Pitt is one of seven ACC teams ranked in the Top 25, led by No. 1 Clemson. The others are No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 12 Miami, No. 20 Virginia Tech and No. 24 Louisville.
Big Ten teams were not considered in this week’s balloting, but they will re-emerge next week as they move toward a Oct. 24 start to their season.
