Pitt showed up at No. 22 in the final Associated Press poll of the 2022 season.

By finishing No. 22 in the AP poll this year and No. 13 last year, Pitt has now been ranked in the final poll of the season in consecutive years for the first time since the Panthers were ranked in each of the final polls from 1979-83.

The Panthers opened the year ranked No. 17 preseason but fell out of the polls after a loss to Georgia Tech on Oct. 2. They spent the rest of the regular season unranked, particularly as they struggled through the month of October with a 1-3 record that saw the team lose at Louisville and North Carolina in addition to the home loss to Georgia Tech.

Pitt rallied in November, though, beating a ranked Syracuse team at home, smothering Virginia on the road, outlasting an upstart Duke squad in the home finale and then pummeling Miami 42-16 in the regular-season closer.

The 8-4 record after 12 games fell short of expectations for a Pitt team coming off an 11-win season and an ACC championship, but the Panthers’ strong play through November continued into bowl season when they faced No. 18 UCLA in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso.

In that game, Pitt came back from a 28-14 third-quarter deficit and had a 34-28 lead in the final minutes before the Bruins scored to take a one-point advantage with 34 seconds left.

But the Panthers, playing without their starters at quarterback, running back and multiple defensive positions, put together a heroic drive that concluded with Ben Sauls’ fifth field goal of the day to win 37-35.

The win capped a five-game winning streak that gave Pitt a 9-4 overall record and 20 total wins over the last two seasons.

Interestingly, the Panthers found themselves looking up at UCLA in the AP poll, as the Bruins (who are also 9-4) dropped three spots to No. 21.

Pitt is one of three ACC teams to make the final AP poll of 2022, along with No. 11 Florida State and No. 13 Clemson. The Panthers had a 1-1 record against teams that were ranked in the final poll, losing to No. 6 Tennessee in Week Two in addition to the win over No. 21 UCLA.