Pittsburgh is back in the Top 25 and hopes to stay there when the No. 22 Panthers take on visiting California in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday afternoon.
Pittsburgh (5-0, 1-0) entered the Top 25 for the first time this season after beating North Carolina 34-24 last weekend.
A sixth consecutive victory likely won’t come easy. The Golden Bears (3-2, 0-2) fell just short against two annual ACC powers. Cal lost to the Florida State Seminoles 14-9 on Sept. 21 in the Golden Bears’ first game in their new conference and fell 39-38 to then-No. 8 Miami last Saturday.
The new long-distance rivals haven’t met since 1966. The Panthers won that game 30-15 to take a 3-2 all-time lead in the series.
Panthers standout quarterback and redshirt freshman Eli Holstein etched his name in the Pittsburgh record book when he threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns in the win over North Carolina. Holstein’s passing yardage total broke the school’s single-game mark by a freshman, passing Alex Van Pelt’s 366 against West Virginia in 1989.
Holstein’s performance earned him the Walter Camp Award as national Offensive Player of the Week. He also rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Holstein also has equaled former Panthers star Dan Marino’s early success. Holstein is the first Panthers quarterback to win his first five career starts since Marino in 1979.
Holstein also is the first Pittsburgh quarterback in school history to throw at least three touchdown passes in each of the team’s first five games.
Like everyone else who watched the end of Cal’s entertaining one-point loss to Miami, Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi wasted no time warning his club about the Golden Bears.
He also wants his players not to overlook the Bears and avoid getting caught up in celebrating the program’s first national ranking since the end of the 2022 season.
“I don’t care (about) the preseason ranking,” Narduzzi said. “The only ranking we’ll brag about is what our postseason ranking is and trying to win a championship. Those are the rankings you worry about.”
As Cal looks to record its first ACC win in school history, the Golden Bears would love to get their running back going.
Arguably Cal’s most pressing issue this season has been the health of All-American candidate Jaydn Ott, who suffered an ankle injury in the opener against U.C. Davis. He has totaled just 86 rushing yards on 23 carries in Cal’s past three outings, after eclipsing the 100-yard mark five times last season.
He sprinted 66 yards against Miami after receiving a short pass, but, according to coach Justin Wilcox, was experiencing ankle pain shortly thereafter.
“He really wants to be out there and doing his best,” said Wilcox, who added that Ott is listed as probable to return against Pitt. “It’s a physical game. One of the unfortunate realities of football is things happen from time to time. He’ll get back as soon as he possibly can.”
