2025 Pitt Panthers Football Preview

S. Samek

What’s in store for Pitt football this season?

The 2024 football season was quite the ride for the Pittsburgh Panthers. A fast start of 7-0 had the team thinking about the possibility of an ACC championship. However, a 23- point loss to 20th ranked SMU started a spiral that saw them lose their next five regular season games. This 7-5 finish earned them a spot in the GameAbove Sports Bowl against Toledo.

The game took six overtimes to decide, but in the end, it would be Toledo winning 48-46 to really end the Pitt season on a sour note with six losses in a row and a 7-6 record.

Eli Holstein is back under center after missing time with an injury last year. He was recently named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list.

Senior running back Desmond Reid is back after rushing for 962 yards and five touchdowns last season. He was recently named an Associated Press All-America First Team member.

Kyle Louis was also named to that team. Louis recorded 101 total tackles with 15.5 going for a loss. He also recorded seven sacks, forced a fumble and intercepted four passes in 2024.

ESPN rated them as a tier 11 team potential sleeper. The fast start was mentioned as a plus, but injuries were named as the cause of the late season struggles. However they said with experience and star power suck as Louis, Pitt could be in for a better season.

In the ACC preseason poll, the Panthers were ranked eighth out of 17 teams. Again, injuries were mentioned as playing a large part in the Panthers tough finish to the season. However, the up-tempo offense of Kade Bell is being marked as something to watch that could propel the Panthers to a better 2025 season.

The schedule looks pretty generous for Pitt. They do have two games against teams in the top 10, however they are both home games. That could make things a bit easier. They have four games against ACC teams ranked lower than them in the poll which is good if they can win the games they are favored in. Plus, the first two games of the season should be very winnable against Central Michigan and Duquesne. That gets them too six wins and bowl eligible right there if they win the games they are supposed to win.

West Virgina should be a tough, but winnable game as well even on the road. I’m thinking six, or seven wins is a reasonable prediction. Eight, maybe nine wins is probably the ceiling for this team. At worst you’re probably looking at three or four wins. My prediction is 7-5 and a bowel game.

Can’t wait to see what Pitt offers this season as they kick off the year against Duquesne in the city game on August 30th, 2025.