No. 16 Pittsburgh Panthers
Previous ranking: 17
Pitt is coming off its second bye week and gets ready for a challenging stretch run of six consecutive games, including showdowns with No. 9 Clemson and No. 22 SMU. But first up is a Thursday night battle with Syracuse (5-1). Syracuse and Pitt were picked to finish 12th and 13th, respectively, in the ACC's preseason media poll and have far exceeded expectations. Quarterback Eli Holstein had a rough outing against California (133 passing yards, two INTs), but Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is confident his redshirt freshman playmaker will bounce back nicely. "There's no lost trust in Eli," Narduzzi told reporters. "I think he's spectacular
