The Panthers were led by second-year head coach Pat Narduzzi and played their home games at Heinz Field.
Junior defensive tackle Justin Moody was forced to retire due to a non-football-related cervical spine condition; he remained on the team as a student assistant.
Additionally, incoming recruits Zack Gilbert and George Hill, both suffering from heart conditions, also missed the 2016 season.
The Wildcats controlled play for portions of the first half, but three straight drives into Pitt territory failed to produce any points, giving the Panthers time to get going.
Running back James Conner, having missed the entire 2015 season due to a torn MCL and after having battled Hodgkin's lymphoma in the off-season, returned to the field and scored 2 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter.
On the following Penn State possession, Dennis Briggs would force Saquon Barkley to fumble the ball, which would be recovered by the Panthers at their own 35-yard line.
The Panthers would shoot themselves in the foot on the next possession, as James Conner fumbled the ball deep in Pittsburgh territory, giving Penn State favorable field position at the PITT 11 yard line.
Trace McSorley would connect with DaeSean Hamilton on the 2-point conversion, put the score at 42–39, Pitt, with 5 minutes remaining in the game.
Mitchell Trubisky kept scanning the field, delivering the ball on target with a cool composure for North Carolina down to when he made the game's biggest play in the frantic final seconds.
The junior threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Bug Howard with 2 seconds left to help the Tar Heels rally past Pittsburgh 37–36 on Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for two teams that finished 1–2 atop the Coastal Division last season.
"We had talked about before the game that we had an opportunity to establish the identity of this football team", UNC coach Larry Fedora said.
But Trubisky led a 17-play, 63-yard drive that included three fourth-down conversions in a stunning finish, sending UNC's players running onto the field to celebrate once they stopped Pitt's final-play kick return.
[19] A once seemingly insurmountable four-touchdown lead gone against resilient Marshall on Saturday night, Pittsburgh could have played it safe and tried to hold on.
Two weeks after giving up the go-ahead touchdown with 2:18 to play in a loss at Oklahoma State and seven days after a 13-point fourth-quarter lead turned into a last-second loss at North Carolina, the Panthers appeared in trouble again when Marshall's Keion Davis scored on a 1-yard run with 4:01 to play to pull the Thundering Herd (1–3) within 30–27.
After falling to the Tar Heels, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said his team couldn't afford to become predictable in late-game situations.
Marshall quarterback Chase Litton returned after missing a loss to Louisville last week and threw for 240 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Michael Clark caught four passes for 147 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown as part of Marshall's methodical rally, one that hardly seemed possible after an opening 30 minutes in which Pitt did whatever it wanted.
Cornerback Avonte Maddox, picked on repeatedly by opponents over the last three weeks, returned a Litton pass 33 yards for a score on the game's final play.
[20] Another fourth-quarter lead gone and another "what if" loss looming, Pittsburgh responded with a little bit of savvy, luck and a dash of redemption for its beleaguered defense thrown in for good measure to surge past struggling Georgia Tech.
First, Scott Orndoff kept his head while hauling in a tipped pass from Nate Peterman the tight end turned into a game-tying 74-yard touchdown with 3:50 to play.
Galombos—who Narduzzi describes as the defense's "computer"—sensed a dive play was coming and changed the call right before the snap, leading Jarrett to stand up Mills short of the first down.
It's the second straight season Pitt topped the Yellow Jackets on a late kick by Blewitt, whose 52 career field goals are a school record.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson defended the decision to go for it rather than kick it and give Pitt's offense, which punted just once all day, another shot.
Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada installed the play this week specifically for O'Neill, a former tight end.
The play capped a wild half that saw the teams combine for three touchdowns in one span of 63 seconds on a 44-yard scoring run by Virginia's Taquan Mizzell, a 93-yard kickoff return by Quadree Henderson and Benkert's 74-yard strike to Olamide Zaccheaus.
But it left Cavaliers offensive coordinator Robert Anae accepting the blame for getting greedy in the final 33 seconds of the half.
The Panthers (5–2, 2–1 ACC) held the Cavaliers without a completion in a scoreless third quarter, outgaining them 80–15, and limited them to 108 yards and a 36-yard field goal by Sam Hayward with 2:04 remaining.
North Carolina State's missed field goal at the end of regulation boosted Clemson to a 24–17 overtime win.
When Clemson was driving for a touchdown already up 42–34, linebacker Saleem Brightwell picked off quarterback Deshaun Watson, his third interception and returned it 70 yards to set up a 20-yard TD by Conner that drew Pitt within 42–40.
Syracuse QB Zack Mahoney would complete 43 of 61 passes for 440 yards and 5 TDs, targeting a Pitt secondary that had been susceptible to giving up big plays all year; all 5 of his touchdown passes were caught by Senior WR Amba Etta-Tawo who, along with the 5 TD receptions, would finish with 13 total receptions with 178 yards receiving.