Things couldn’t have felt more magical and festive for the Pitt football program and its fans on the night of October 24, 2024. The Panthers had just whipped up on Syracuse at Acrisure Stadium by a score of 41-13 to improve to 7-0 for the first time since 1982.

I’m not saying older Pitt fans felt so nostalgic that they went into storage to find their dusty Rubik’s Cubes, but I sure couldn’t have blamed them.

Unfortunately for the Panthers and their fans, they’ve likely spent the past few weeks rushing to the Internet to complain about their woes on social media. I can’t say that I blame them, since things have fallen back into how they have been for most seasons this century.

Saturday’s afternoon tilt vs. Clemson at Acrisure Stadium was no exception, as the Panthers fell dramatically by a score of 24-20.

Things started out well for Pitt. The Tigers’ first possession ended in tragic fashion when quarterback Cabe Klubnik was stripped of the football while being sacked, and Rasheem Biles recovered at the Panthers’ 46. But Pitt’s offense, led by quarterback Nate Yarnell, who was starting for a concussed Eli Holstein, could not take advantage and had to punt after a quick three-and-out.

The Tigers’ second possession was much more fruitful, as they marched 93 yards on an eight-play drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to receiver Antonio Williams to make it 7-0, visitors.

The home team immediately answered that scoring possession with one of its own; the Panthers marched 75 yards on a five-play drive that ended when running back Daniel Carter found paydirt from two yards out to tie the score at seven.

The two teams traded punts over the next four possessions before the Tigers regained their seven-point advantage when Klubnik and Williams connected on another scoring strike–this time from 28 yards out–with 11:18 left in the second quarter.

The Panthers tried to narrow the gap to four points late in the first half, but Ben Sauls could not deliver on a tall order and was wide-right on a 59-yard field goal.

The two teams traded punts once more before Clemson closed out the half with a 51-yard field goal from kicker Nolan Hauser to take a 17-7 advantage into the locker room.

Things could have quickly fallen apart for the Panthers early in the second half after Yarnell was stripped of the football on a sack, and Clemson recovered near midfield.

But the Panthers’ defense was dominant for most of the second half (more on the most part in a bit) and forced a quick three-and-out. In fact, three-and-outs became the theme for the Tigers over their next three possessions.

Would Pitt’s struggling offense finally wake up and take advantage?

It sure looked like it when Yarnell connected with dangerous and talented running back, Desmond Reid, on a 19-yard pass that set up a first and goal from the two early in the final period. But just went it looked like the Panthers would pull to within three, the next sequence of plays summed up their recent struggles: On third and goal from the one, the Pitt coaching staff called a timeout and nullified a play that would have resulted in a touchdown. The Panthers were called for illegal formation following the time out, making it third and goal from the six. Pitt was then called for delay of game, making it third and goal from the 11. The Panthers were then called for a false start, which made it third and goal from the 16.

The Panthers had to settle for a Sauls field goal that pulled them to within seven points.

Fear not, because Pitt’s defense was still in dominant mode and forced its third-straight three-and-out. The offense then marched 58 yards in seven plays and tied the score at 17 on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Yarnell to tight end Gavin Bartholomew with 7:05 remaining in the game.

Would Pitt’s defense force another three-and-out? No, but it did force a turnover on downs when the Tigers failed to convert on fourth and one from the Panthers 41.

The Panthers then chewed up 2:41 of game time and took a 20-17 lead on a 47-yard field goal from Sauls with just 1:36 left in regulation.

Would the Panthers’ defense slam the door one last time?

No.

Instead, Klubinik raced 50 yards for a touchdown to give Clemson a 24-20 lead with 1:18 left.

The Panthers attempted a 2016-like comeback but came up short when Yarnell was intercepted at the goal line on the final play of the game.

Pitt is now 7-3 and 3-3 in conference play. You can forget about those ACC Championship Game hopes and 12-team national championship tournament dreams.

The Panthers will now close out their regular season with two road games, starting with a tough one next Saturday at Louisville.

Will Pitt play in the Sun Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl or some other bowl that won’t seem as magical as those early-’80s dreams fans were having just a few weeks ago?

That’s the only question that remains for this 2024 Panthers squad.