Pitt was not only excluded from the Associated Press preseason poll released on Aug. 24, but it also received zero votes. It seems that fact was not lost on Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi and his team heading into the season opener against Austin Peay on Saturday, as the Panthers made a statement with an absolute thrashing of the Governors. And as a result of the 55-0 victory, Pitt earned 157 votes and the No. 25 spot in the AP Top 25 for Week 2.
While a win over an FCS team is not a major achievement in and of itself, Pitt’s victory was a unique milestone in the Narduzzi era in a number of ways.