The Pitt Panthers will begin its 2022 season as the No. 17 team in the country.
Pat Narduzzi's team was ranked at that spot in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Monday, after finishing as the No. 13 team in the nation following an 11-3 season, an ACC championship, and an appearance in the Peach Bowl.
Pitt is one of five ACC teams slotted in the initial rankings, along with No. 4 Clemson, No. 13 NC State, No. 16 Miami, and No. 22 Wake Forest.
Much speculation surrounded the Panthers as a team to potentially not earn a ranking, after losing Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison in the offseason while fellow ranked ACC teams ride heightened expectations. Media members voted Pitt to finish second in the Coastal Division to Miami in the polling following ACC Kickoff in Charlotte in late July. Three of those 164 voters picked Pitt to repeat as league champion.
Pitt earned a No. 16 ranking in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll released on August 8.
Here is the full preseason AP Top 25 ranking (first-place votes in parentheses):
1. Alabama (54)
2. Ohio State (6)
3. Georgia (3)
4. Clemson
5. Notre Dame
6. Texas A&M
7. Utah
8. Michigan
9. Oklahoma
10. Baylor
11. Oregon
12. Oklahoma State
13. NC State
14. USC
15. Michigan State
16. Miami
17. Pitt
18. Wisconsin
19. Arkansas
20. Kentucky
21. Ole Miss
22. Wake Forest
23. Cincinnati
24. Houston
25. BYU
