Pitt officially joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports on July 1, 2013, five years ago last month. Shortly after that the football team played their first game as a member, a nationally televised Labor Day night game against Florida State. The move had been long-anticipated, with the initial announcement coming in 2011 and rumors of Pitt leaving the decrepit Big East for several years prior. The expectancy was palpable that night at Heinz Field with a sellout crowd on hand and a pregame celebration of Pitt’s new conference home. The team even briefly rewarded and enhanced the celebration by scoring on the opening drive of the game to take an early 7-0 lead. It wasn’t to last though as the eventual national champions quickly took control of the game and ultimately won 41-13.  The game was a quick reality check. After the built-up excitement over Pitt finally finding a stable home for athletics, when the time finally came they still had to go out and play the games. I would almost compare it to a marriage. The engagement happened in 2011 when the move was first announced and what followed was a 2-year period of planning and anticipation. The wedding itself happened on Labor Day 2013 and everyone had a great party to celebrate. Unfortunately, there was no honeymoon and after the “wedding” all that’s left is the actually living with each other. Extending this metaphor further, one could say that Pitt is now at the 5^th anniversary of its marriage with the ACC. How have the first 5 years gone for Pitt? Where do they fit in the conference hierarchy? How does the future look? These are the questions I look to answer as I go through the first 5 years of Pitt in the ACC.

A Timeline of Pitt’s First 5 Years in the ACC

As a disclaimer, I will only be looking at Pitt football’s first 5 years in the ACC. There is plenty worth mentioning that has happened in the other sports, but the focus here will be on the football team. With that out of the way, let’s start with a brief timeline of Pitt football in the ACC:

• September 18, 2011 – The ACC Council of Presidents vote unanimously to accept Pitt (and Syracuse) as the 13^th and 14^th members of the conference.
• July 1, 2013 – After playing out two lame duck seasons in the Big East, Pitt officially joins the ACC.
• September 2, 2013 – Pitt plays their first game as a member of the ACC, a national broadcast on Labor Day against Florida State. Though Pitt jumps out to a 7-0 lead, they eventually fall 41-13 to the Seminoles.
• September 21, 2013 – Pitt wins their first ACC conference game, a 58-55 barn burner against Duke in Durham, North Carolina. Myself, and I’m sure many other Pitt fans, were introduced to the awfulness that is ACC Network broadcasts.
• November 29, 2013 – Pitt wraps up their first regular season in the ACC with a 41-31 loss to the Miami Hurricanes. They go 6-6 overall and 3-5 in ACC play. They receive an invite to the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl in Detroit where they would clinch a winning season with a win over Bowling Green State.
• October 25, 2014 – Pitt reintroduces the popular “Pitt script” on the football helmets the day before the homecoming game against Georgia Tech. Though there is initial excitement, the rushed, unorganized, and seemingly random nature of the rollout comes off as almost desperate by the Athletic Department leadership. Pitt is subsequently embarrassed by the Yellow Jackets, fumbling the ball 5 times in the 1^st quarter and falling behind 28-0. They would fumble once more and eventually lose 56-28.
• November 1, 2014 – Pitt loses to Duke 51-48 in double overtime after Chris Blewitt misses a potential 26-yard game winning Field Goal at the end of regulation. Head Coach Paul Chyrst is deservedly criticized for not “centering” the ball when given the chance and forcing Blewitt to make the attempt from a tough angle.
• November 29, 2014 – Pitt beats Miami 35-23 to reach 6 wins and bowl eligibility in the last game of the season. They finish 6-6 overall and go 4-4 in ACC play.
• December 17, 2014 – After a week of speculation, Pitt coach Paul Chryst is introduced as the new Head Coach of Wisconsin, his alma mater. Almost simultaneously it was announced that Steve Pederson had been fired as Pitt’s Athletic Director.
• December 26, 2014 – Michigan State Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi is introduced as Pitt’s new Head Coach.
• January 2, 2015 – Pitt completes a whirlwind holiday season by blowing a 31-6 4^th quarter lead to the Houston Cougars in the Armed Forces Bowl. Houston would win 35-34 after scoring 3 touchdowns while recovering 2 onside kicks in the final 3:41.
• October 17, 2015 – Chris Blewitt converts a game winning 56-yard Field Goal to beat Georgia Tech. The win runs Pitt’s record to 5-1 (3-0) and Pitt subsequently enters the AP Poll (#25) for the first time since 2010.
• October 24, 2015 – Pitt beats Syracuse 23-20 to move to 6-1 (4-0) on the season. The win is thanks in large part to a gutsy fake punt during the game winning Field Goal drive. Pitt moves to #23 in the AP Poll. They would fall out of the poll and not return that season after losing their next game against UNC though.
• November 27, 2015 – Pitt loses to Miami 29-24 in the regular season finale but completes their best ACC season to date by going 6-2 in conference play.
• December 28, 2015 – Quadree Henderson returns the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown, but Pitt would eventually fall 44-28 to Navy in the Military Bowl.
• May 18, 2016 – Pitt completes their transition from the “Block Pitt” logo they used for the majority of the 2000’s back to the classic “Script Pitt” logo with an unveiling of their new uniforms at an event at the Petersen Events Center.
• September 3, 2016 – James Conner makes his triumphant return in the season opener against Villanova after missing almost the entire previous season due to a torn MCL in his right knee and subsequent cancer diagnosis. He scores two touchdowns in Pitt’s 28-7 win
• September 10, 2016 – After a 16-year hiatus, Pitt renews their rivalry with Penn State. The Panthers win 42-39 with Ryan Lewis sealing the game with an interception in the Panther’s endzone late as Penn State attempted to drive for a game-tying or go-ahead score.
• November 12, 2016 – Pitt pulls off a shocking upset by going into Death Valley and beating the #2 ranked Clemson Tigers 43-42. Chris Blewitt won it with a 48-yard Field Goal with 6 seconds remaining, more than making up for a missed extra point earlier in the game.
• November 26, 2016 – Pitt ends the regular season with a wild 76-61 win over Syracuse. The 137 points scored are an FBS record. The win gives Pitt a 5-3 record in conference play.
• December 22, 2016 – It is announced that Pitt Athletic Director Scott Barnes is leaving Pitt for the same position at Oregon State. His Pitt legacy will primarily be associated with his Men’s Basketball Coach hire though.
• December 28, 2016 – Pitt ends the season in disappointing fashion in an upset loss to Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl. The game represents the last in a Pitt uniform for James Conner and Quarterback Nathan Peterman. Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada, the mad genius behind Pitt’s historic offensive output from the 2016 season, also leaves the program for the same position with LSU.
• March 20, 2017 – Pitt hires Heather Lyke to replace Scott Barnes as Pitt Athletic Director. She is the first female Athletic Director in the school’s history.
• October 7, 2017 – Pitt loses to Syracuse 27-24. It’s only the 3^rd time since 2001 and the first time since both schools joined the ACC that the Panthers lose to the Orange. Starting quarterback Max Browne suffers a season-ending injury and Pitt falls to 2-4 (0-2) on the season.
• November 9, 2017 – Pitt loses 34-31 to UNC in a nationally televised Thursday night game to fall to 4-6 (2-4) on the season. UNC came into the game with a 1-8 record and would be the only conference game that the Tar Heels would win during the season. UNC remains the only ACC Coastal team that Pitt has failed to beat since joining the conference.
• November 18, 2017 – Ben DiNucci is replaced at Quarterback by Kenny Pickett after throwing an interception late in the 1^st Quarter. Pickett almost leads an upset over the Hokies, but the Panthers fail to score a TD late despite having 1^st & Goal from the 1-yard line. Virginia Tech holds on 20-14 and the Panthers fall to 4-7 (2-5).
• November 24, 2017 – In his first career start at Quarterback, Kenny Pickett leads an improbable upset over the undefeated and #2 ranked Miami Hurricanes. The Panthers still finish 5-7 (3-5) and miss out on a bowl for the first time since 2007.
• December 6, 2017 – Despite the losing season, Heather Lyke announces a 7-year extension for Pat Narduzzi through 2024.
• August 3, 2018 – Pitt begins training camp in preparation of a pivotal 2018 season, the school’s 6^th in the ACC and the 4^th of Pat Narduzzi’s tenure.

How Does Pitt Compare with the Rest of the Conference?

As the timeline shows, Pitt football has had some high highs and low lows over the past 5 seasons. The records bear out these mixed results. They’re 33-30 overall and 21-19 in ACC play since joining the conference. Looking at it year-by-year shows that they’ve overall had middling results, with their record a result of consistent medium performances and not wild changes in fortune over the past five years.

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