On Saturday, Nov. 17, Pitt (6-4) traveled south to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the first-ever matchup in history with Wake Forest (5-5).

After the record-breaking route of Virginia Tech the week before on senior day, the Panthers looked to build on their hot streak and make history.

The Deacons were the first to score with a field goal on the first drive to take a 3-0 lead, but after a very slow start, Pitt responded late in the second quarter with a rushing touchdown by Darrin Hall to take a 6-3 after the extra point was blocked.

Wake Forest then added one more score before halftime on a touchdown pass by quarterback Jamie Newman to take a 10-6 lead going into halftime.

In the second half, it was a totally different story. Sophomore wideout Rafael Araujo-lopes caught a 4-yard touchdown pass to open up the scoring, and they never trailed again, outscoring Wake Forest 28-3 in the second half, only letting up a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Graduate transfer wide receiver Taysir Mack caught a 63-yard touchdown pass in the third and also junior wide receiver Maurice Ffrench caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in the fourth.

The Panthers rushing attack, (averaging 248 yards per game) is what has led them to their success as of late, but the passing game finally showed up and a played a huge role in the win. Sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns and even a fourth to the left tackle Stephano Millin for the dagger to seal the game.

The Panthers defense has been playing strong as of late and they had another great showing on Saturday. With two interceptions and two sacks, the Panthers held the Deacons to only 13 points and put them in a great position to get the win.

With the win, the Panthers are now (7-4) overall with a (6-1) conference record, clinching Pitt’s first ever ACC Coastal Championship.

Before the season started, coach Pat Narduzzi ended his preseason presser with saying, “The next time we’ll see you is in Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game, because that’s where we are going.”

He was right because now they will now be traveling to Charlotte on Dec. 1 for a matchup with No. 2 ranked Clemson in the ACC title game.

Pitt has a great history in upsetting No. 2 ranked teams. They beat WVU and ruined their National Championship hopes. They then upset undefeated Clemson in 2016 and Miami last year while they were all ranked No. 2.

They will travel to Miami (6-5) next week to close out the regular season. The game will start at 3:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.