Pitt Bowl Projection Steadily Improving

The Pitt Panthers bowl projection keeps steadily improving after a win vs. West Virginia.

Sep 14, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back Derrick Davis Jr. (34) celebrates a touchdown with BJ Williams (55) and Gavin Bartholomew (86) during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Image Images / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers continue to see their bowl projections improve after another win last weekend against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Backyard Brawl at Acrisure Stadium.

Pitt opened up the season with a 55-24 blowout win over Kent State at Acrisure Stadium, the first time they've scored that many points in more than three seasons.

They then traveled to face Cincinnati in the River City Rivalry and after falling behind 27-6 midway through the third quarter, scored 22 unanswered points, capped off with a field goal from redshirt senior place kicker Ben Sauls to win the game, 28-27.

The Panthers made a late comeback against the Mountaineers, down 34-24 with less than five minutes remaining. Redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein would throw a 40-yard touchdown to redshirt junior wide receiver Daejon Reynolds, then after a defensive stop, moved the ball down the field, allowing redshirt junior running back Derrick Davis Jr. to score the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute remaining.

This 3-0 stretch for Pitt is leading to national writers to start placing them in thier bowl projections for the end of the season.

Brent McMurphy of Action Network put Pitt in the Duke's Mayo Bowl on Jan. 3 in Charlotte, N.C. vs. Illinois.

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.

Pitt vs. Tulane was a matchup that two writers put in two different bowls. Mark Schlabach of ESPN put them in the Wasbai Fenway Bowl in Boston on Dec. 28 and Jerry Palm of CBS Sports put them in the Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton, Fla. on Dec. 18.

The Green Wave took the first four games of the series in 1969 and then 1971-73, while the Panthers won the last three games 1977-78 and 1984.

Brad McMurphy of 247Sports put Pitt up against Michigan State in the Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. on Dec. 27.

Pitt played three straight seasons in Birmingham in what was known as the BBVA Compass Bowl from 2010-12, defeating Kentucky the first time and losing badly to both Ole Miss and SMU in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

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.

Kyle Bonagura of ESPN had Pitt against Baylor in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, Fla. on Dec. 20.

The Bears and Panthers each have two wins in the series and both on the road. The Panthers won in Waco, Texas in 1962 and in 1970, while the Bears won in Pittsburgh in 1961 and 1973.

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