For two seasons in a row, Pitt football has been on the verge of doing something special only for late-year collapses to limit the Panthers to a mid-tier bowl appearance.

In 2024, injuries on the offensive line and at quarterback sank Pitt after a 7-0 start. Last year, after riding the success of freshman signal caller Mason Heintschel to a 7-2 start, the Panthers were humbled in November losses to ranked Notre Dame and Miami squads.

So what can the Panthers do to put together a complete season and finish better than 7-6 or 8-5?

“This season, we’re not playing Miami and Notre Dame at the end of the year,” coach Pat Narduzzi said with a smirk Friday at the ACC Football Kickoff event in Charlotte, N.C. “We had a pretty damn good run. I think Miami played in the national championship game, and I think Notre Dame was pretty good — probably both of them should have been in the (College Football) Playoff.

“I would say last year — I don’t go back and look at what happened last year, the year before or this or that. But I think we did pretty good. We didn’t play our best games (vs. Miami and Notre Dame) — those are two pretty good football teams. We’ll have our chance again someday.”

Panthers heatin’ up ♨️ pic.twitter.com/JWw9r5Wa5b

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) July 17, 2026

Jokes aside, Narduzzi is correct as far as Pitt’s 2026 scheduling is concerned.

The Panthers play the first month of the season at home, beginning Sept. 5 at Acrisure Stadium vs. Miami (Ohio), followed by Central Florida, Syracuse and Bucknell.

A visit to Blacksburg, Va., follows Oct. 2, when Narduzzi will meet James Franklin and Virginia Tech. From there, the Panthers host North Carolina and play at Boston College and Miami.

Pitt’s final four games of the year are at home against Georgia Tech and Florida State, then on the road at Louisville before a regular-season finale Nov. 28 at Cal.

Already, before fall camp begins in early August, the Panthers are setting their sights high.

“Getting back to the ACC championship; that’s our goal,” Heintschel said. “We get back there, go win that game and then obviously, the sky’s the limit, College Football Playoff and all that kind of stuff. We’ve got to take this one game at a time. We get Miami (Ohio) Week 1, we’ve got to have a really great fall camp before that and, like I said, taking it one game at a time.”

Heintschel’s development will be pivotal for the Panthers.

This time last year, Heintschel was a little-known true freshman who spent fall camp running Pitt’s scout team while the Panthers looked upon Eli Holstein to take the next steps after a solid debut campaign in 2024.

But Heintschel, after continued ineffectiveness from Holstein, became Pitt’s starter in Week 5, and the Panthers never had to look back.

Heintschel completed 63.6% (201 for 316) of his passes for 2,354 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions last fall.

With offensive coordinator Kade Bell returning, Heintschel feels well-positioned to continue improving.

“I think getting that experience from this last year, getting some games under my belt, getting some time under my belt, I think that’s helped to show everybody I can play at this level,” Heintschel said. “I’ve proven that. I think that allows for me to take that next step as a leader. At the quarterback position, you kind of have to take that step and be a leader for these guys.”

The Panthers have several returning faces up front, such as Ryan Carretta, now playing center, B.J. Williams (right guard) and Ryan Baer (right tackle).

Kendall Stanley (left guard) is back and was named Pitt’s Ed Conway Award winner as the team’s most improved offensive player during spring drills.

The final piece of the puzzle up front appears to be Penn transfer Netinho Olivieri, who spent spring starting at left tackle.

“I think we’re putting guys in the right position now on the O-line,” said Baer, who brings 35 career starts into his redshirt senior season. “Last year, we had to put some people at maybe it wasn’t their position, but we needed them to play there. Now that they’re able to play the positions they like, I think now we can do a lot of dangerous things.”

Hail To Pitt ???????? pic.twitter.com/axVCwNUNuF

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) July 17, 2026

While Narduzzi expressed confidence in his offensive line and pass game, he views Pitt’s ground attack as a potential difference-maker.

Like Heintschel last year, Ja’Kyrian Turner was another true freshman who stood out in 2025, rushing for 745 yards and seven scores in 12 games.

The Panthers are hoping to turn Turner loose this upcoming season.

“If we can establish a run game to go with our pass game, then Ja’Kyrian Turner, ‘Boosie,’ — if we can get our run game going, average 150 (yards) a game rushing the ball, watch out,” Narduzzi said.

Defensively, Pitt begins a new chapter with Cory Sanders at defensive coordinator.

Sanders, who enters his ninth season in Oakland, previously oversaw Pitt’s safeties and took over for Narduzzi’s longtime coordinator, Randy Bates, who retired after the Military Bowl in December.

Now Sanders will look to maintain Pitt’s standard of physicality, stoutness in the run game and generating turnovers, all while bringing his own touch to the defense.

“He knows our defense inside and out,” Narduzzi said. “It’s a fresh voice in the room. I’m excited just for that opportunity for him to start his career as a defensive coordinator at the Power Four level. There’s nobody that knows this defense better than he does in our building. He’s fun to work with, and he’s positive, so we’re excited about that change.”

On top of Sanders assuming a new role, Pitt also brought in Harlon Barnett as safeties coach and Joe Bowen to coach linebackers, replacing Ryan Manalac.

Narduzzi expects Sanders to approach his duties in a slightly different manner than Bates did, based largely on upbringing and prior position group specialization.

“The one thing I’ll say is, you’ve got a secondary coach,” Narduzzi said. “Bates was a linebacker guy. A secondary guy is going to be thinking more tweaks in the back end as opposed to maybe different blitzes, but we’ll have the different blitzes, don’t get me wrong. We’ll always have different tweaks. The difference is, there will be a different mindset on gameday.”

Personnel-wise, the Panthers must replace All-American linebacker Kyle Louis, who was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the spring, and All-ACC standout Rasheem Biles, who transferred to Texas.

Narduzzi, who brought in 16 transfers over the winter, spotlighted outside linebackers DeMarco Ward (Memphis) and Alex Sanford (Purdue) as being “impact players for us right now.”

Ward and Sanford will aim to buttress Leechburg graduate Braylan Lovelace, a senior expected to anchor the unit and provide leadership.

“The standard’s the standard all the time,” Lovelace said. “We play fast, we play aggressive and that’s just how it’s going to be all the time.”

For Pitt, roster configuration is complete and the preseason is set to begin. From there, Narduzzi will have about four weeks to fine tune, establish a depth chart and get the Panthers ready for Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 5.

It’s a day Narduzzi, his coaches and players are increasingly anticipating.

“We’re excited obviously for this 2026 season,” Narduzzi said. “I always think this kickoff is really the beginning of the season — starts to get your heartbeat going. But we’re excited to play in one of the best leagues in the country. … We’re fired up in Pittsburgh and can’t wait for the season to start.”