The AP preseason Top 25 dropped, and Pitt’s 2026 schedule is already looking loaded with ranked opponents. The Panthers will face two of the ACC teams in that opening poll on the road, with No.
7 Miami and No. 24 Louisville standing out as the biggest hurdles.
Miami comes first, and it comes late: Pitt heads to Coral Gables on Oct. 24.
The Hurricanes landing in the top 10 isn’t much of a shock after finishing as the runner-up in the National Championship game against Indiana. They’ll also have quarterback Darian Mensah at the controls after he helped Duke win the ACC championship last season before entering the transfer portal.
And Miami still has Malachi Toney, who was one of the best wide receivers in the country as a true freshman. Pitt saw exactly what that looks like when the Panthers got smoked by Miami in the regular season finale with an ACC Championship berth hanging in the balance.
That trip won’t be an easy one to circle off as a likely win, especially since Pitt’s last road victory over Miami was a 42-16 blowout in 2022.
The other ranked ACC road test comes at the end of the regular season, when Pitt visits Louisville. The Cardinals sit at No. 24 and, like Pitt, are usually a difficult ACC team to deal with even if they don’t often stack up nationally. Louisville has had Pitt’s number lately, winning the last two meetings, and this one could wind up being a major factor in whether the Panthers keep their postseason hopes alive.
Pitt’s most recent win over Louisville came in 2023, when the Panthers were 1-4 and still managed to knock off an undefeated No. 14 Louisville team.
That was one of only three wins Pitt had that season. The Panthers’ last road win in the series came way back in 2011.
There’s one ranked team on the schedule Pitt won’t have to deal with this year: No. 19 SMU. The Panthers haven’t played the Mustangs since 2024, when Pitt fell 42-25.
Last season offered a glimpse of how close Pitt was to breaking into the AP Top 25 conversation for good. After winning five straight, the Panthers entered a home game against No.
9 Notre Dame at No. 22.
The buzz was real, but the Fighting Irish showed Pitt still had work to do in those kinds of matchups.
A week later, Pitt answered by going on the road and beating No. 16 Georgia Tech, which moved the Panthers back to No.
- But the next game brought a home blowout loss to Miami, and that knocked them right back out of the picture.
Still, Pitt did pick up seven points from AP voters, a sign that there’s at least some belief in the program. The Panthers aren’t getting the same dark-horse buzz they drew a year ago, but with another season for the young core to grow and a schedule that looks a touch friendlier, things could tilt in Pitt’s favor.
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Narduzzi Signals Pitt Still Has Key Camp Battles To Settle
Pat Narduzzi spent the days leading into Pitts 11th fall practice underscoring just how much still has to be sorted out before the opener, even with camp deep enough for the staff to start getting a clearer picture. He praised quarterback Mason Heintschels growth and pointed to the value of the little things in practice, while also noting how players such as JaKyrian Turner have helped set the tone as the Panthers keep tightening up on both sides of the ball.
The biggest ongoing question remains along the defensive front, where Narduzzi said the rotation at defensive end is still very much open. Crothers, Jaeden Moore, Isiah Neal and Jimmy Scott all came up as part of that mix, and the coaching staff is still looking for cleaner communication and execution as it tries to settle the depth chart. For Pitt, the next stretch of camp is about turning steady progress into actual answers. [Read more 🡒]
Pitt Camp Highlights One Strength And One Big 2026 Test
Pitts fall camp rolled on with its 11th practice, and the theme coming out of it was pretty clear: the Panthers like what theyre building on the line of scrimmage, especially on defense. Pat Narduzzi praised the depth at defensive end and kept coming back to the value of attention to detail, while linebacker Davin Brewton offered a window into the standard inside that position room, where leadership and accountability are part of the daily expectation.
The more interesting subplot for Pitt is on offense, where Narduzzi and running back Synkwan Smith both sounded upbeat about the state of the running game heading toward the 2026 season. That confidence matters because it suggests the Panthers believe theyve made real progress in an area that can still define the teams ceiling, even if the real answer wont come until the fall is much closer and the first serious tests begin. [Read more 🡒]