Pitt reaches new high in CFP rankings
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After finishing its first 10-win regular season in 40 years, Pitt (10-2, 7-1) broke more ground on Tuesday night when the Panthers were announced as the No. 15 team in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.
That’s Pitt’s highest position in the eight-year history of the CFP rankings, and it matches the Panthers’ highest ranking in any poll since 2010. Pitt was ranked No. 15 in the preseason Associated Press poll that year but fell after a Week 1 loss.
The last time the Panthers were ranked as high as No. 15 during a season was 2009, when they topped out at No. 8 in the Associated Press poll with a 9-1 record after 10 games.
In previous weeks, most of the teams ranked directly above Pitt were in action, giving the Panthers opportunities to continue climbing in the rankings. On championship weekend, though, there are fewer games that could impact Pitt’s rank. No. 13 Iowa will face No. 2 Michigan in the Big Ten championship and No. 9 Baylor will face No. 5 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game.
No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 12 BYU, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 10 Oregon are all inactive this weekend; Pitt could possibly jump those teams with a win in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday against No. 16 Wake Forest.
Pitt and Wake are two of four ACC teams who were included in the final CFP ranking of the regular season. N.C. State climbed two spots to No. 18 and Clemson climbed two spots to No. 20 after both teams finished the regular season 9-3.
The SEC leads all conferences with six teams in the CFP ranking this week. The ACC and Big Ten have four each, ahead of the Big 12, which has three. The Pac-12 and AAC have two teams each, while the Sun Belt (No. 24 Louisiana) and Mountain West (No. 19 San Diego State) have one each. Two independents - No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 12 BYU - are also ranked.