The first set of rankings for the College Football Playoffs for the 2024 season were announced on Tuesday night. Pitt checked in at No. 18 in the only set of rankings that truly matter.

The Panthers started the year off hot, winning seven games out of the gate, but suffered their first setback of the season, a 48-25 defeat to SMU in Dallas over the weekend. That result had Pitt drop to No. 23 in the AP rankings on Sunday afternoon.

As it turns out, the committee is much higher on this 7-1 Pitt team than AP voters, and the Panthers are not far from holding one of the coveted top 12 spots in the newly expanded College Football Playoffs.

Pitt is one of five ACC teams in the initial set of rankings. The Panthers are joined by No. 4 Miami, No. 13 SMU, No. 22 Louisville, and No. 23 Clemson. Pitt will host Clemson on 11/16 for a nationally televised game on ESPN, and will travel to Louisville the following week.

The 18th-ranked Panthers do not hold a victory over a ranked opponent yet this season, but Pat Narduzzi has collected at least one of those in eight consecutive years.

Since the College Football Playoff replaced the BCS in 2014, this is now the fourth season Pitt has cracked these rankings. The Panthers had two appearances in 2016, one in 2018, and six back in 2021. The high water mark for this program was No. 12, in the final poll of the 2021 season.

The Panthers will look to improve to 8-1 on Saturday, when 4-4 Virginia comes to Acrisure Stadium for an 8:00 p.m. kickoff on the ACC Network.