The sting of a 37-15 loss to Notre Dame is still felt three days later after the College Football Playoff committee revealed that Pitt (7-3, 5-1 ACC) had been dropped from the newest top 25 rankings. A five-game winning streak had lifted them to 24th, then 22nd in the initial rankings of the 2025 season, but an ugly loss knocked them out.

With ESPN’s “College GameDay” on location at Acrisure Stadium for a clash between what was, at the time, a pair of ranked teams, Pitt was soundly defeated. They fell behind 14-0 midway through the first quarter and never got within two scores again. Saturday’s loss was the first time this season Pitt had lost a game by more than seven points.

Some of the factors which had carried Pitt through six weeks without a loss despite a rash of injuries did not

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