The 7-4 Panthers went into their 2024 regular-season finale against Boston College at Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon just looking for something positive to end the year on.

Pitt began the season with a 7-0 record and dreams of an ACC Championship and a berth in the first-ever 12-team national championship playoff. But after four straight losses, the only thing the program could hope for at kickoff was an eighth win and a more decent bowl invitation on December 8.

The bowl invitation will still come on December 8, but it might as well be in Siberia after the Panthers ended their regular season with a fifth-straight loss, this time by a score of 34-23 to an Eagles team that is now feeling good after improving to 7-5.

The Panthers went into Saturday’s finale without quarterback Eli Holstein (leg injury) and all-purpose running back Desmond Reid (undisclosed injury). Nate Yarnell got the start behind center, while junior Derrick Davis started in Reid’s absence.

As for the game, Pitt fell behind by a score of 13-0 in the first half and trailed the entire time.

Every time the Panthers appeared ready to take over, disaster struck.

For example, Pitt closed the gap to 13-7 with 3:56 left in the first half on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Yarnell to tight end Gavin Bartholomew. The offense regained possession late in the second quarter and ultimately faced a second and 10 from the Boston College 40 with 33 seconds remaining until halftime. Unfortunately, Yarnell was hit while trying to pass, and the errant throw quickly found its way into the arms of defensive lineman Ty Clemons, who rumbled 55 yards for a touchdown. Just like that, it was 20-7, Eagles.

Believe it or not, the Panthers quickly rebounded to get in position for a 57-yard field goal try for Ben Sauls, whose kick was true as the first half expired.

Pitt’s defense forced a turnover on downs on the Eagles’ first possession of the second half, and the offense parlayed this momentum into an eight-play, 65-yard drive that culminated in Bartholomew’s second touchdown reception of the day–this time from five yards out–to make it 20-17.

But just when the Panthers appeared to have all the momentum, they gave it right back when Boston College immediately answered with an eight-play, 83-yard touchdown drive to reclaim its 10-point advantage.

And that was pretty much that.

The two teams traded punts until the Eagles put the final nail in the coffin with a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Grayson James to tight end Kamari Morales to make it 34-17 with just 6:12 left in regulation.

Pitt scored a garbage touchdown when Yarnell found receiver Konata Mumpfield from 15 yards out to make the final margin 34-23.

For the day, Yarnell completed 23 of 42 passes for 296 yards, three touchdowns and the pick-six.

It was a special afternoon for Mumpfield, who caught eight passes for 144 yards and a score. Sadly, he was the only player besides Bartholomew who made a difference for the offense.

What went wrong for these 2024 Panthers down the stretch? That’s a question we’ll be debating for an entire offseason. Things were never truly the same for the program after that impressive blowout victory over Syracuse at Acrisure Stadium on the night of October 24. Holstein, who had such a good start to his Pitt career that fans and alumni were worried another school would offer him huge NIL money to transfer after the season, suffered a concussion in that game and another one down the stretch. Perhaps that explains his struggles over the final seven weeks.

Maybe he just hit a wall. Maybe his greatness lies somewhere in between Heisman hopeful and good quarterback. Using Kenny Pickett as a barometer, the program would no doubt benefit from that space in between.

The silver lining in Holstein’s struggles is that he’ll surely stick around for at least another year. Speaking of years of eligibility, hopefully, Pitt fans will be able to enjoy one more season of the junior Reid, who is currently fifth in the nation with 1,509 all-purpose yards.

The good news is that Pitt’s drastic fall means it was never good enough to be included in the 12-team field. The bad news is that another couple of wins would have at least given the program’s fans hope that it was close to reaching a new level.

Now, the Panthers fans must sit around for another offseason and wonder if they’ll ever again be good enough to compete with the best teams in the nation.