Before she climbed atop the stage on the field at Bank of America Stadium, Heather Lyke stood apart from the wild, confetti-laced celebration that ensued after Pitt defeated Wake Forest to win the ACC championship.

Yet her role was instrumental in keeping Pitt’s football program stable after years of coaching turnover and, thus, successful this season.

Four years ago almost to the day — in only her ninth month on the job — Lyke followed her convictions and extended Pat Narduzzi’s contract to 2024. Less than a month earlier, Pitt had finished a 5-7 season.

On Saturday night, she was asked about that pivotal moment in her Pitt tenure.

“You have to believe, and it takes some time,” she said. “It takes a lot of hard work, and it takes sticking with your coaching staff and believing in them.”

Moments later, Narduzzi talked about how the Pitt program has grown beyond the 42-10 loss to Clemson in the 2018 ACC championship game that was played on the same field in Charlotte, N.C. Pitt is the first Coastal Division team since 2010 to win the conference title, but Narduzzi knows success can be fleeting and there is more work to be done. After all, Pitt (11-2) has won 11 games for the first time in 40 years, but it is not among the four teams chosen Sunday for the College Football Playoff.

“I guess it’s pretty good right now,” he said of the state of the program seven years after he took the job. “We still have room for improvement.”

Already thinking ahead, he added, “We’re going to have to replace Kenny Pickett in the future.”

But studying the big picture, he conceded, “Our program is where it needs to be.”

Pitt was ranked No. 12 on Sunday by the CFP committee, up from No. 15 last week. The Panthers were chosen to play Michigan State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 in Atlanta for its first major bowl appearance since the Jan. 1, 2005, Fiesta Bowl.

More high-profile recognition could emerge Monday when Pickett is expected to be chosen as one of a handful of Heisman Trophy candidates invited to the awards ceremony in New York City next Saturday.

Even if he doesn’t win it, an invitation to sit among the nation’s best players would be appropriate for a quarterback who set Pitt career and single-season standards for passing yards (12,303/4,319) and touchdown passes (81/42). In ACC history, the yardage is second only to Philip Rivers, and Pickett set the all-time conference record for touchdown passes in a season.

First on Pickett’s to-do list this week, however, is to go home and spend time with family and friends in New Jersey.

“I’m going home this week, and I’ll be able to be with my family and take a deep breath,” he said. “I’ve been so focused on what we’ve been doing, I really haven’t had the chance to sit back and take it all in.”

He also said — unlike many college football stars in recent seasons who wanted to save themselves for the NFL — he plans on playing in the bowl game.

Congratulations, @PittTweet, @Pitt_ATHLETICS, & @Pitt_FB! #H2P pic.twitter.com/CK3GS33zN3

— City of Pittsburgh (@Pittsburgh) December 5, 2021

He said getting an invitation to the Heisman ceremony would be a “team award.”

“I improved, yes, but you look at this team, we improved so much,” he said, without noting Pitt was only 6-5 in 2020.

“I’m so grateful for every single guy and the work they put in. (Heisman recognition) speaks for everybody.”

Narduzzi called the Panthers “the most unselfish football team I’ve been around.”

“Nobody cares who gets the credit. Nobody’s worried about Heismans. They’re just worried about winning the next game,” he said.

If the next game is a victory, Pitt would tie the 1976 national championship team for victories in a season (12).

But before that, Narduzzi plans to follow the lead of his quarterback.

“I’m going to try to relax and try to enjoy the moment,” he said, “and we’ll worry about that in another month.”

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