Pitt Bowl Projection Features Top SEC Opponent

The Pitt Panthers bowl projections features a battle vs. a top SEC opponent.

Sep 21, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) runs with the ball against Youngstown State Penguins defensive lineman Jabarrek Hopkins (16) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers didn't play a football game last weekend, but still see favorable bowl projections going forward, thanks to their 4-0 start.

Brent McMurphy of Action Network put Pitt up against LSU in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. on Jan. 2, 2024. The Gator Bowl pits a Big Ten team vs. an SEC opponent, but an ACC team has played in three of the past four editions.

Pitt and LSU have never played each other in football. Pitt last faced an SEC opponent in Tennessee in 2021 and 2022, with each team winning on the road, Pitt in 2021 and Tennessee in 2022.

The last time that Pitt played in the Gator Bowl was 1980, when they dominated No. 18 South Carolina, 37-9. Pitt also won in 1977, a 34-3 blowout of No. 11 Clemson and lost to No. 4 Georgia Tech, 21-14 in 1956.

LSU holds the No. 13 ranking and is currently 4-1, with their sole loss to then ranked No. 23 USC, 27-20, in the Modelo Vegas Kickoff Classic at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 1.

They defeated FCS opponent Nicholls State 44-21 on Sept. 7, UCLA 34-17 on Sept. 21 and South Alabama 42-10 on Sept. 28, all at home. They also outlasted South Carolina, 36-33, on the road on Sept. 14 in their SEC opener.

ESPN writers Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach and Jerry Palm of CBS Sports all put Pitt in the Badboy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, N.Y., an ACC vs. Big Ten bowl.

Bonagura put Pitt vs. Iowa, Schlabach put Pitt vs. Illinois and Palm put Pitt vs. Michigan State.

The Panthers and Hawkeyes most recently had a home-and-away series in 2014 and 2015, with the Hawkeyes coming out in close games. They erased a 10-point defecit at halftime on the road in 2014 and would win 24-20, and won 27-24 on a 57-yard last second field goal at home in 2015, right after Pitt tied it up at 24-24 with a touchdown with less than a minute remaining.

Pitt and Iowa split their home-and-away in 2008 and 2011, with Pitt winning 21-20 at home in the first matchup and Iowa would make a huge comeback at home, down 24-3 with three minutes to go in the third quarter and outscored Pitt 28-3 to win 31-27 in the second matchup.

The Panthers won the first matchup, 20-0 in Iowa City in 1931 and both teams split the home-and-away series in 1951 and 1952, with the Hawkeyes getting the 34-17 victory at home in the intial matchup and the Panthers winning 26-14 in the latter matchup.

Illinois defeated Pitt five straight season from 1943-47 and also in 1967, with four games in Champaign, Ill. and two in Pittsburgh, with Pitt not scoring in any of the games.

The Panthers did defeat the Fighting Illini' 26-6 in 1981 at home and 20-3 on the road in 1982.

The Spartans defeated the Panthers in their last matchup in the Peach Bowl in 2021 and are 7-0-1 in the series. They won back-to-back seasons in 2006 and 2007, 1950-51 and 1958, plus the tie coming in 1960.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports picked Pitt to face off against Washington State in the Holiday Bowl in on Dec. 27 at SnapDragon Stadium in San Diego, an ACC vs. Pac-12 bowl that Pitt has never played in.

The Panthers defeated the Cougars, 17-13, on Sept. 2, 1995, the season opener, one of two wins that season, and the only matchup between the two schools.

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