CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Following Pitt’s 34-24 win over North Carolina on Saturday, Pat Narduzzi was asked several times and in multiple ways about Eli Holstein’s performance. Pitt’s veteran coach eventually said it best.

“Eli was Eli, he does what he does.”

Holstein, of course, is only five games into his college football career, but already there feels like some sort of expectation with the redshirt freshman quarterback that he is simply going to play really well in every one of Pitt's games.

On Saturday, he did more than play really well, the Pitt quarterback delivered the best passing total for a freshman in Pitt history, going 25-of-42 for 381 yards and three touchdowns. Holstein also topped Pitt in rushing with 76 yards and a score as well.

But more importantly, he led Pitt to a win. It was the program’s first-ever victory in Chapel Hill. The win also signified a 5-0 start, something Pitt hasn’t done since 1991. He also became the first quarterback to lead the Panthers to five wins in his first five starts since the legendary Dan Marino did it back in 1979.

"I guess I'm in pretty good company, he's a Hall of Famer, he's a leading quarterback in our college here at Pitt,” Holstein said when asked about matching a Marino record. “Hopefully I can keep doing what he did, and lead the team to great things.”

So far, so good in that department.

Pitt is now just one of two undefeated teams remaining in the ACC, joining No. 8 Miami. The 5-0 Panthers should enter the AP rankings when the poll is released today at 2:00 p.m.

Holstein, like many football players, deflect when history starts getting attached to their performances. But the Louisiana native said he and his teammates were aware of some of the streaks hanging around Pitt going into Saturday’s game against Chapel Hill.

“We mention it here and there, it's a big deal obviously, you're making history, growing up you dream of making history for your school, and football, and everything like that,” he explained. "Our goal is just make a play, do what we're supposed to do, go 1-0 every week, and that stuff's gonna come.”

Holstein was mostly effective on Saturday, but his performance did start with a low point. Holstein noted he incorrectly read the defense, before throwing an interception to North Carolina’s Kaleb Cost, who returned it 84 yards from a touchdown to give the Tar Heels an early 7-3 advantage.

“That was all on me, nothing they did different, special, I just made a bad read, and I gotta learn from it,” Holstein said after the game.

In reality, it never seemed to bother him the way it would for most freshmen. He accounted for four touchdowns following that play and kept Pitt’s offense humming along like it has been all season. The Panthers went for 520 yards on Saturday, nearly matching the team’s season average of 522.8 yards per game.

“He's a competitor now,” Narduzzi said of Holstein bouncing back from his early mistake. "I mean, nothing fazes him. Some quarterbacks would hesitate, but that guy didn't hesitate. He made plays after play after play, whether it's with his feet or with his arm.”

His feet became pivotal on Saturday against the Tar Heels. Holstein rushed for a fourth quarter touchdown, but broke off a pair of 20-yard runs along the way to set up that score.

“They were playing some man coverage and nobody was really accounting for me,” Holstein said of his ground success. “They were worried about Desmond Reid out of the backfield making plays, because that's what he does. so you’ve got to account for him, and when he takes somebody out of the box, that just opens up holes for me to run.”

Holstein’s performance, and Reid’s, sort of illustrates what Pitt’s offense really can do to opposing defenses. There was a quarterback as the leading rusher. Reid, a tailback, led Pitt in receiving with 11 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown.

“I don't care who you are, it's hard to guard that guy,” Holstein said of Reid. “So when we get one on one with him on anybody, we're trying to attack that guy, because he's gonna be able to make big plays for us.”

Holstein is now up to 1,564 passing yards, 15 touchdown, to just three picks on the year. He is second on the team in rushing with 265 yards and three touchdowns as well.

In every game this season, Holstein has thrown for three touchdown passes, and to put that number in perspective, during Kenny Pickett’s Heisman run in 2021, he had eight games of three touchdown passes or more, and Pitt’s talented freshman has simply done it in every game he has played in to date.

Holstein keeps racking up the numbers, and is starting to get into record-breaking territory, all the while having Pitt off to its best start since 1991, with a chance to move to 6-0 next week when Cal comes to Acrisure Stadium.

Pitt has not started a season 6-0 since 1982.

“It's a great performance, it's kinda what he's done all year,”Narduzzi said of Holstein’s game against North Carolina. “So it's expected now.”

That is a tough thing to wrap your head around, if you really think about it. Holstein is just 'expected' to deliver these kind of performances every week, and not many freshmen in Pitt history have garnered that kind of respect in only five games into a career.