PITTSBURGH – Pitt Athletics continues to experience unprecedented success during the fall season with the football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball teams each ranking in the Top-25 of their respective national polls. Pitt is one of two athletic department’s in the country with all four programs – football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and volleyball – ranked in the national polls this week.
“We are excited about the continued success and trajectory of our football, men’s soccer, volleyball and women’s soccer teams this fall,” said Director of Athletics Heather Lyke. “The extraordinary efforts across the board by our student-athletes, coaches, and support staff have helped create sustainable winning cultures in each of those programs. Winning is contagious and we are committed building champions and pursuing excellence here at Pitt. The fan support at our home events this fall has been outstanding and make a difference! We are looking forward to seeing it continue to grow with so many key ACC contests coming up for each of our programs.”
Pitt has now had its football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and volleyball programs ranked in the national polls at the same time three times in department history. All four programs were ranked twice during the 2020 fall season (Sept. 20-26 and Sept. 27-Oct. 2).
Football – No. 24 [AP] / No. 24 [USA Today Coaches] l Upcoming Schedule l Tickets
The Pitt football team (3-1) is ranked No. 24 this week in both the Associated Press media poll and the USA Today coaches poll. The Panthers have been ranked every week in September for the first time since 2003. Pitt has appeared in the AP Top 25 for 13 consecutive polls dating back to last October. Junior running back Israel Abanikanda is off to a terrific start to the season and is coming off his second ACC Running Back of the Week honor. He rushed for career highs of 177 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries—an impressive 9.3 average. His touchdowns covered 67, 12, 24 and 13 yards. Abanikanda added a 19-yard reception for a total of 196 yards from scrimmage and 245 all-purpose yards against Rhode Island. Abanikanda has now rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games, the first time a Pitt player has accomplished that feat since Darrin Hall in 2017. On the year, he has rushed for 479 yards and six…
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