Pitt football made major gains even during its bye week. Not only did a pair of fellow ACC championship contenders go down, but Pitt earned some respect in the national media, as well.

Associated Press pollsters opted to rank the Panthers for the first time this season at No. 23 in the Week 12 poll, it was announced Sunday.

Pitt checked in at No. 24 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2025 season released last week but hadn’t yet cracked the AP poll. It spent five weeks ranked during the 2024 season prior to the five-game losing streak that Pitt closed on. This will mark 27 weeks ranked for the Panthers since Pat Narduzzi took over as head coach, and it comes on the heels of a six-game winning streak that has dramatically shifted this team’s fortunes.

As they enjoyed a

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