Pitt handed North Carolina its third straight loss on Saturday afternoon.
The Tar Heels were competitive, but Pitt was able to pull away in the 4th quarter with a couple of scoring drives to earn a 34-24 win in Chapel Hill.
https://twitter.com/Pitt_FB/status/1842651913164357939
The game was tied going into the final stanza, but Pitt out-scored the Tar Heels 10-0 during the period.
Eli Holstein was once again fantastic for the Panthers, throwing for 381 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win. He also had a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the 4th quarter that ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
This is the fifth consecutive 3-touchdown game for Holstein to begin his Pitt career. He’s been extremely consistent in the early going of his Pitt career. The former Alabama quarterback now has a 15-to-3 TD-to-INT ratio with the Panthers in 2024.
Here’s an impressive sequence that led to Holstein’s longest TD pass of the day — a 30-yard strike to Raphael Williams in the second quarter:
Back-to-back big plays on that last drive for #Pitt
Eli Holstein ➡️ Desmond Reid for 23 yards on 3rd down
then Eli Holstein ➡️ Raphael Williams for the 30 yard TD pic.twitter.com/rDqNViuDRd— (@fsh733) October 5, 2024
Pitt is now a perfect 5-0 on the season and is 1-0 in ACC play. The Panthers are establishing themselves as top contenders in the ACC moving forward, particularly with Louisville’s loss to SMU on Saturday. Pitt, Clemson, Miami, SMU, Virginia and Duke are the only ACC teams currently undefeated in conference play.
For North Carolina, the Tar Heels are now fully in free-fall mode. They’ve lost 3 consecutive games and have dropped to 0-2 in ACC play with this defeat.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
