It was a tough October for the Pitt Panthers, but they made sure they ended the month with an important achievement.

Pitt defeated Georgia Tech 34-11 at Acrisure Stadium in their Week 9 matchup at Acrisure Stadium, marking their sixth win of the season and becoming bowl-eligible.

This is head coach Pat Narduzzi's ninth time earning a bowl bid with the Panthers in 12 seasons in charge, and makes it 10 seasons that the Panthers have won six or more games in his tenure.

It's a small consolation in modern-day college football, but it should give Pitt some momentum as they head into the final few games of 2026.

Pitt Finally Becomes Bowl-Eligible

After starting 5-0, it took time to get that sixth win, as sophomore starting quarterback Mason Heintschel suffered a torn ACL in the 35-33 road win over Virginia Tech in Week 5.

This set Pitt on a three-game losing streak, including a 21-17 home defeat to North Carolina in Week 6, a 27-21 road loss to Boston College in Week 7 and a 52-21 road blowout to No. 1 Miami in Week 8.

While the ACC Championship is almost certainly out of reach, the Panthers can at least have some prize to possibly win at the end of the season.

This is the Panthers' third season in a row being bowl-eligible, but they haven't won a bowl game since defeating UCLA in the 2022 Sun Bowl.

Pitt lost the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. in a wild, 48-46, six-overtime shootout in 2024, then fell 23-17 to ECU in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md. in 2025.

The Panthers aren't guaranteed to finish the season with a winning record, as losing out and losing the bowl game could have them at 6-7, their first season below .500 since 2023, when they finished 3-9.

Pitt Bounces Back Against Georgia Tech

While Pitt has had a disappointing season, they were lucky to face an ACC team that has been having an even more disappointing year.

Georgia Tech was ranked as high as No. 16 in the country last year, but this season, they have seriously struggled and are 2-6 and last in the ACC at 1-4 after this loss to Pitt.

Just like last year, Pitt used their true freshman running back to run all over the Georgia Tech defense.

While Damon Ferguson Jr. didn't rush for 200 yards like Ja'Kyrian Turner, he still earned all 185 yards and two touchdowns on his 32 carries. Sixth-year La'Vell Wright also had an impressive game with 52 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Panthers' fifth-year quarterback Holden Geriner, whom the coaching staff is sticking with over freshman Corey Dailey, had a decent game against the Yellow Jackets, throwing for 180 yards and a touchdown.

His best connection of the night was with fifth-year wide receiver Censere Lee, who may have made Pitt's play of the year with an incredible one-handed catch.

.@CensereLee 🤝 #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/Dgl4FSNFAR

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) November 1, 2026

Pitt finally has a bye week after a grueling stretch and will host Florida State on Nov. 13 in Week 10, their last contest at Acrisure Stadium.