If you’re a Pitt fan in your 50s, you may feel the urge to hop on your bicycle and ride around the neighborhood until the streetlights come on.

Why? The Panthers are 6-0 for the first time since 1982 thanks to a thrilling 17-15 victory over the Cal Golden Bears at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

It was the first meeting between the two programs since Cal joined the ACC this year, and what a memorable meeting it was.

The Bears drew first maul when running back Javian Thomas finished off a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown run with just under nine minutes left in the first quarter. Cal decided to go for two points for some odd reason but was unsuccessful.

Pitt’s high-powered offense took over from there and scored 17 points on its next three possessions.

The Panthers immediately answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Desmond Reid five-yard touchdown run to make it 7-6 with 5:07 left in the first quarter. The key play on the possession occurred a few minutes earlier when head coach Pat Narduzzi decided to roll the dice on fourth and five from his team’s 49. Quarterback Eli Holstein found Reid with a pass right down the middle for a 19-yard gain to the Cal 32.

Pitt extended its lead on its next possession by marching 81 yards in just four plays. The key play was the last one, and instead of marching, it involved a lot of running by the speedy Reid, who took a handoff and raced 72 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-6.

The Panthers’ next possession stalled at the Cal 40, but Ben Sauls is maybe the best kicker in the nation this year; he was a perfect nine for nine coming into the day and made his 10th straight from 58 yards away, tying the record for longest kick in the history of Acrisure Stadium.

So after amassing 210 total yards and 17 points over three possessions, the Panthers and their fans probably thought it would be another busy day for the scoreboard operator.

But a strange thing happened on the way to another Pitt scoring-fest: The Golden Bears defense sent the Panthers offense into hibernation for the rest of the game. Punt. Fumble. Interception. Interception. Punt. Punt. Punt. If you’re counting at home, that’s four punts, three turnovers and a combined 109 yards on Pitt’s next seven possessions following Sauls’s field goal.

Thankfully, Pitt’s defense picked this day to play perhaps its first complete game of the season, and it had to be on the details thanks to its struggling offense and a Cal team that refused to go away quietly.

The Golden Bears made things really interesting when quarterback Fernando Mendoza connected with tight end Jack Endries for a 19-yard touchdown to cut the lead to two points with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter. The visitors went for two for a second time and failed for a second time.

The Bears quickly regained possession following another dreadful offensive series by Pitt and methodically marched down the field on a 13-play, 58-yard drive that ate up 6:29 of the game clock. Things stalled at the Pitt 22, and Ryan Coe came on to attempt a 40-yard field goal for the lead with just another two minutes left in regulation. Coe’s kick was short, and the Panthers kept the lead.

Unfortunately, the Panthers were still in the middle of their seven-possession offensive slump and went three and out after running just 1:03 off the clock.

The Bears had one final shot from their own 20 with just 41 seconds left. Thankfully for Pitt and its fans, the defense was up to the task and didn’t give up an inch over the next four plays to preserve the 17-15 win and the 6-0 start.

It was the worst game of the season for Holstein, as the redshirt freshman completed 14 of 28 passes for just 133 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Reid had 120 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, but it felt like a relatively quiet day for him since 72 of those yards came on one run.

The receivers were largely non-existent with Konata Mumpfield leading the way with just 37 yards on three receptions.

As for team stats, Pitt’s offense was just one of 12 on third downs and lost the time of possession battle by a whopping 17 minutes (38:30-21:30).

Again, the defense was the star of Saturday’s win. The Panthers posted six sacks on the day–including three by defensive lineman Jimmy Scott and two by linebacker Braylan Lovelace.

Cal may have gained 335 yards but only 63 came on the ground.

A close, low-scoring win over a football program that dropped to 3-3 may not seem that impressive on the surface, but the Golden Bears were up by 25 points at home over an undefeated Miami team one week earlier before losing in heartbreaking fashion by a score of 39-38.

Speaking of undefeated teams, the Panthers are one of just two left in the ACC and one of 11 still remaining in the entire country.

The Panthers entered the weekend ranked 22nd in the country, and it will be interesting to see if their latest victory helps them crack the top 20.

Next up for Pitt is a bye before Syracuse comes to town for a Thursday evening clash at Acrisure Stadium on October 24.