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Sep 6, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Raphael Williams Jr. (5) celebrates his touchdown offensive linemen Lyndon Cooper (56) and Keith Gouveia (66) against the Central Michigan Chippewas during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pitt Bowl Projections After Bye Week

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI
By Mitchell Corcoran | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 7:00 AM ET

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers are coming off their first bye week of the season. And while they had the week off, the rest of the country had games to play, which means there are new bowl game projections.

Pitt has been projected to a variety of different bowl games so far in this young season, including the Pinstripe Bowl and the Duke's Mayo Bowl before the season. The Panthers were projected to play in four other bowl games last week.

This week, there are some repeat projections, but with different opponents, and a new bowl game projection.

The Military Bowl

On'3 Brett McMurphy and ESPN's Kyle Bonagura each projected Pitt to play in this year's Go Bowling Military Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 27 in Annapolis, Md. McMurphy chose the Panthers to face Navy, while Bongura chose Memphis. This year's game will pit an ACC team versus an American team.

The Midshipmen are currently 3-0 this season and boast the top rushing offense in college football, averaging 375.3 yards per game. They also have a top 15 scoring offense and a top 40 scoring defense.

Meanwhile, the Tigers are coming off a 32-31 comeback win over Arkansas to improve to 4-0. Memphis was down by 28-17 at halftime, and a big 64-yard run by Sutton Smith sealed the game with just over five minutes remaining.

Last year's Military Bowl featured East Carolina defeating NC State 26-21. Pitt played in the bowl game just once in 2015 when it lost 44-28 to Navy. The last ACC team to win was in 2023 when Virginia Tech defeated Tulane 41-20.

Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Fenway Bowl

Bryan Fischer of Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports both have Pitt playing in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 27. Fischer has the Panthers facing Navy and CBS Sports chose Tulane.

This year's bowl game will have one ACC team and one American team. Neither Pitt nor Tulane has ever played in the Fenway Bowl, as it was established in 2020.

The ACC is 2-1 in the Fenway Bowl with wins from Louisville and Boston College in 2022 and 2023, respectively. UConn defeated North Carolina 27-14 in last year's game.

The Green Wave suffered its first loss of the season to Ole Miss this past week, 45-10. It has wins over Northwestern, South Alabama and Duke.

The Birmingham Bowl

ESPN's Mark Schlabach has projected Pitt and Mississippi State to face off in the JLab Birmingham Bowl for the second consecutive week. The game will be played in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday, Dec. 29.

The Panthers have played the Birmingham Bowl three previous times. They won their first appearance 27-10 over Kentucky in 2010, but lost to SMU 28-6 in 2012 and lost to Ole Miss 38-17 in 2013.

This year's Birmingham Bowl will also feature an ACC team and an SEC team. Vanderbilt defeated Georgia Tech 35-27 in last year's game. The last ACC team to win the game was Duke in 2023 when it defeated Troy 17-10.

The Bulldogs are 4-0 this season after beating Northern Illinois 38-10 last week. Mississippi State also has a 24-21 ranked win over Arizona State in Week 2.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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