Pitt Features as Sleeper for CFB Playoff

The Pitt Panthers feature as a sleeper for the College Football Playoff.

Sep 14, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers players celebrate after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Image Images / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have had a fantastic start to the season, with some people seeing them as a sleeper for the College Football Playoff.

Pitt is 4-0 to begin the season for the first time since 2000 and won all of their non-conference games, the first time for the program since they joined the Big East conference in 1991, after playing as an independent.

They blewout Kent State, 55-24, to start the season on Aug. 31 and FCS opponent Youngstown State, 73-17, in their most recent matchup on Sept. 21, both at Acrisure Stadium. The 73 points is the most since they scored 77 in a win over another FCS opponent in New Hampshire on Sept. 25.

Pitt had to make a comeback against Cincinnati on Sept. 7 on the road, as they found themselves down 27-6 midway through the third quarter. The Pitt offense managed to score three touchdowns and a last second field goal, bolstered by a strong defensive performance, to win 28-27.

The comeback for Pitt was the largest since Oct. 9, 1971, when they trailed Navy 35-10 at Pitt Stadium and scored 26 unanswered points to get the victory, 36-35.

Pitt would have to do the same against rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl on Sept. 14 at home, down 34-24 with five minutes remaining.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein completed a 40-yard pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Daejon Reynolds in the end zone to cut the deficit to three for the Panthers. They had one more chance after a three-and-out from the Mountaineers and Holstein led another late touchdown drive, capped with a one-yard run from redshirt junior running back Derrick Davis Jr., winning 38-34.

Scott Dochterman of The Athletic looked at nine Power Four teams that finished their non-conference slate undefeated, but aren't in the top 25. This includes Pitt, ACC foes Duke and Louisville, Big Ten schools in Illinois, Indiana and Rutgers, plus Big 12 schools in BYU, Iowa State and UCF.

Dochterman praised Holstein's play, which has garnered him four ACC Rookie of the Week honors, and the comebacks the Panthers have had to do to stay perfect on the season.

He looks at the upcoming schedule for Pitt and while they every team they face has a winning record, only two of them currently feature in the top 25. He also mentioned that their next two opponents in North Carolina and Cal each suffered poor losses last weekend and that they have Syracuse, SMU on the road and Virginia at home the next three games, that look favorable.

"Pitt’s history suggests they’re capable of putting together a nice run coupled with an inexplicable loss or two," Dochterman wrote. "That’s certainly a possible outcome with this slate. But the Panthers have a playmaker in Holstein, who redshirted last year at Alabama before transferring. With Miami off the schedule, anything looks possible for Pittsburgh in the wide-open ACC."

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