The Pitt Panthers are 5-2 after back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Boston College. Those were supposed to be the easier ACC games on the schedule, as on Oct. 24, the Panthers will fly south to take on the No. 1-ranked Miami Hurricanes.

The last time Pitt played the nation's top team was in 2002, which was also on the road against Miami. Pitt was ranked No. 17 in the country and lost 28-21.

Miami is one of just five undefeated Power Four conference teams left in the country, and the only undefeated ACC team left. The Hurricanes beat their first five opponents by an average margin of 39.8 points to get to 5-0. Their most recent game against Florida State was their closest yet, with the Hurricanes squeaking out a 43-35 victory in double overtime.

The Hurricanes have many returning great players from last season when they made a run to the National Championship game, including Heisman candidate Malachi Toney, their star wide receiver. Miami picked up Duke quarterback Darian Mensah in the offseason to carry on their offense. Mensah has been averaging the fifth-most passing yards per game in the country with 294.

The No. 1 Curse?

Even before the season, many Pitt followers knew this game would be the toughest. Pitt hosted No. 12 Miami in the final ACC game of last year, having a chance to make the ACC Championship with a win. Instead, Pitt got blown out and fell out of the rankings.

Pitt did win the last time they played at Miami, a 42-16 dominate victory in the 2022 season.

Head coach Pat Narduzzi has a decent 2-2 record against teams ranked in the top three of the AP Top 25, including a win over No. 2 Miami in 2017. The other win was over No. 2 Clemson in 2016. Pitt has never beaten an AP Poll No. 1 team in 15 matchups.

On the field, Pitt is dealing with a quarterback situation that doesn't have a clear answer. Even star quarterback Mason Heintschel, who is unfortunately out for the rest of the season with an ACL tear, struggled against the Hurricanes last season. Miami is holding its opponents to 13.8 points per game, the sixth-best in the country.

If anything helps Pitt, it's been a strange trend in the past few weeks of the No. 1-ranked team losing to an unranked opponent. First, it was Texas to Oklahoma, and then this past weekend, top-ranked Georgia lost at home to Auburn.

It's going to take much better play for the Panthers to pull off the upset against the Hurricanes. The last time Pitt played a ranked opponent on the road was last season against No. 16 Georgia Tech; that game ended up being a wild win itself, but it did show that anything can happen if the team is focused.