After Pitt roared back to defeat No. 18 UCLA, 37-35, in the Sun Bowl, it was a foregone conclusion that Pat Narduzzi's Panthers would earn an Associated Press Top 25 ranking to close out the college football season.
While the Panthers made history with respect to a season's-end ranking by achieving something that had not been done in the program's history in 39 years, one glaring result has not, cannot, and will not escape the minds of Panthers fans.
How was UCLA ranked ahead of Pitt to close the season?
Yep. The Bruins checked in at No. 21 in the final AP rankings, one slot ahead of Pitt and by a margin of just 10 points -- 243 to 233. The AP's ranking system is finalized on a points scale, with a vote for No. 1 earning a team 25 points, a vote for No. 2 earning 24 points, and so forth leading up to No. 25, which earns one point.
Pitt made some of its own history and placed itself in a scope among the elite college football programs in the country. For the first time since 1982-'83 Pitt finished with an AP Top 25 ranking in consecutive seasons. The Panthers joined Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Oregon, Utah, and Notre Dame as programs to finish in the AP Top 25 following the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
A remarkable feat, all things considered, but that thought of slotting in one behind the team they just upset -- with a cast of replacements stepping in for opt-outs, injuries, and transfers -- is not going to be let go of for a while.
Narduzzi certainly knows about it:
Classic Karlo!!! Unbelievable!!! https://t.co/gihoVu7aNi
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) January 10, 2023
And, if you canvass Twitter enough, so do many others.
Sixty-three ballots were cast. Here is the breakdown of the vote:
For those wondering why #Pitt finished ranked behind UCLA in the final AP poll, here is the balloting breakdown.
— Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) January 10, 2023
Remember, the AP ranking is a points system. Pitt finished 10 points behind UCLA. pic.twitter.com/11XYupLPTn
Twenty voters slotted UCLA ahead of Pitt, with six voters ranking UCLA and leaving Pitt unranked: Nathan Baird of Cleveland.com (UCLA at No. 17), Nate Mink of Syracuse.com (UCLA 19), Don WIlliams of the Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal (UCLA 19), Josh Furlong of KSL.com in Utah (UCLA 20), Aaron McCann of MLive in Michigan (UCLA 19), and Kellis Robinette of the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle (UCLA 25).
Two voters left both Pitt and UCLA unranked: Rece Davis of ESPN and Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star.
Pitt did have some friends in the AP balloting, with three slotting Pitt in their respective rankings while leaving UCLA unranked: Brett McMurphy of the Action Network (Pitt at No. 22), Adam Zucker of CBS Sports (Pitt 23), and Dave Readron of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Pitt 23).
I reached out to my former colleague at the Toledo (Ohio) Blade, David Briggs, who had Pitt ranked No. 22 and UCLA No. 24:
"Can’t say I gave it a ton of thought, but two teams with a 9-4 record and one of them just beat the other? Hard to explain that one," Briggs texted to me.
Chuck Landon of the Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette-Mail had Pitt at No. 15 and UCLA at No. 22 in the poll. That was the highest ranking Pitt achieved among publicized ballots.
While Pitt was largely ranked ahead of UCLA by the majority of the ballots, the points system skewed slightly towards UCLA.
Some of the largest gaps I noted while reviewing these, among those which voted UCLA ahead of Pitt: Zach Klein of WSB-TV in Atlanta (UCLA No. 17, Pitt No. 25), Colten Bartholomew of the Wisconsin State Journal (UCLA 16, Pitt 23), and Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald (UCLA 17, Pitt 23).
"That was Pitt's only ranked win of the year," Bartholomew told me. "UCLA beat Utah and Washington, who I had ranked pretty high."
Minus the concept that Syracuse was ranked No. 20 when Pitt beat them -- I digress -- that is a fair claim to make, as the Bruins topped No. 15 Washington 40-32 on Sept. 30, and followed it with a 42-32 triumph over No. 11 Utah the next week. Pitt, meanwhile, could have changed fate with a close-out over Tennessee in Week 2.
The rest of the ballots cast which favored UCLA over Pitt had the Bruins over the Panthers at a margin of five slots or within.
I reached out to other voters who had UCLA ranked over Pitt. We'll see who arises to explain and provide more justification. Stay tuned.
MORE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE
• Narduzzi pulled in another top-flight WPIAL player from the transfer portal on Tuesday, as LSU transfer, Monroeville native, and Gateway product Derrick Davis Jr. committed to the Panthers:
Let’s Get to it!!🔵🟡 #H2P @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/pLph3fsgJs
— Derrick Davis (@D_Davizzz) January 10, 2023
Davis (6-foot, 210 pounds) played in just five games for the Tigers this year at safety, but is arriving to Pitt to test his skills in the running back room. Davis was the top-rated safety and the No. 51-overall prospect in the nation in 247Sports' class of 2021, but as a running back, Davis finished his high-school career at Gateway with 3,898 rushing yards, 1,448 receiving yards, and 77 total touchdowns. He saw some time at running back at LSU, having carried the ball 11 times for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Davis is the third former WPIAL star to transfer to Pitt this offseason, joining Pine-Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec (Boston College via Notre Dame) and Peters Township safety Donovan McMillon (Florida).
• Pitt received more good news this week with respect to the 2023 roster, as interior offensive linemen Jake Kradel and Blake Zubovic tweeted their intentions to remain Panthers for one more season:
One more year in the Pitt Script! #H2P pic.twitter.com/Dt4Sp9XWhE
— Jake Kradel (@JakeKradel) January 9, 2023
One more year in the script!!💙💛 #H2P pic.twitter.com/r3Fu3pl1hS
— Big Z (@blake_zubovic66) January 9, 2023
For a Pitt offensive line which is losing Carter Warren, Marcus Minor, and Gabe Houy to the NFL and with Owen Drexel graduated, these two returning to anchor the inside boasts a much-needed presence to usher in Jurkovec at quarterback and with Rodney Hammond Jr. set to take over as the No. 1 running back.
Branson Taylor and All-ACC pick Matt Goncalves are each solidified as the Panthers' starting tackles in 2023, and that unit will once again be an experienced group. The four have combined for 77 career starts, including Kradel's 38 and Goncalves' 21.
