Pitt climbed one more spot in the Associated Press poll released on Sunday, as the 7-0 Panthers are now No. 18 in this week’s rankings.

That represents a jump from 19, where Pitt was ranked last week. Ole Miss, a two-loss team from the SEC, was ranked No. 18 last week but fell behind the Panthers.

Pitt also climbed three spots to No. 17 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.

Pitt’s spot in this week’s AP poll represents the Panthers’ best ranking since they were No. 17 in 2022. They entered that season at No. 17 and stayed there after opening the schedule with a win over West Virginia, but they subsequently fell with a loss to Tennessee.

No. 18 is the highest Pitt has been ranked this late in the season since the 2021 team was No. 17 entering the ACC Championship Game against Wake Forest. The last time Pitt was ranked as high as No. 18 in October was 2009; that year, the Panthers went from receiving votes at the start of the month to being ranked No. 16 by the time October ended.

This Saturday, Pitt will face ACC newcomer SMU on the road. The Mustangs are ranked No. 20 - a two-spot climb from last week after they defeated Duke on the road Saturday night - making this Pitt’s first game against a ranked opponent as a ranked team since the 2021 ACC Championship Game.

Pitt, SMU, Miami and Clemson continue to represent the ACC in the Associated Press poll; the Tigers are No. 11 this week and the Hurricanes are No. 5. Those are the only four teams with undefeated conference records - Clemson is 5-0, Miami and SMU are 4-0 and Pitt is 3-0 - but only Pitt and Miami are undefeated overall.