Pitt’s game against Syracuse on Thursday night marks the Panthers’ last game before the crucial month of November, and everyone knows this is the time of year when the best teams emerge to claim their place among the sport’s elite.

Is Pitt among them?

The College Football Playoff committee, which will send a record 12 schools to the postseason tournament, will release its first rankings Nov. 5 — Election Day. What do football and politics have in common? Arguments, of course, about who belongs in high places and who doesn’t.

No. 19 Pitt (6-0, 2-0 ACC) has six games left in the regular season, starting with the Orange (5-1, 2-1) at Acrisure Stadium. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. After that, the Panthers visit No. 22 SMU (6-1, 3-0) on Nov. 2 in Dallas.

Pat Narduzzi insists on talking about them one at a time, but if Pitt wants to be included in the first top-12 rankings, the Panthers must win both games.

Senior college football writer/analyst Brett McMurphy of the Action Network released a projection Tuesday, and he included two ACC teams among the 12. Neither named Pitt. He projects Miami as ACC champion and a No. 3 seed. Clemson is No. 8.

Pitt senior tight end and co-captain Gavin Bartholomew noticed the Panthers ranked 19th in the most recent Associated Press Top 25. He saw, didn’t approve, but he also said, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Our mindset is we should be higher. So, we’re going to go out there Thursday and prove it.”

A Pitt victory would extend its winning streak to seven, which would be the program’s longest in a single season in 42 years.

It’s a big night for another reason, with the teams and those in attendance in the company of former Pitt All-American wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who will be honored during the game.

“The whole world’s watching,” Bartholomew said. “That’s our time to really display who we are as a team and show our identity.”

Meanwhile, some thoughts:

1. Bartholomew: No complacency

Bartholomew was on the team in 2021 when Pitt won the ACC championship, and he said the vibe in the locker room “kind of feels the same.”

“For one thing, I know we’re not getting complacent,” he said. “We have a bunch of guys on our team who are hungry. They want to keep eating, and they’re going to continue to show that.”

Bartholomew said that tone was set before the season.

“We told everyone in the summer, you can’t take a single day off,” he said. “We’re going to have a target on our back once we get rolling in the season, and we’re doing exactly what we talked about. We have to keep that same mindset of being the underdog and coming to work every day.”

Good advice, but Pitt is no underdog. The Panthers are 5 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel.

• Transfer quarterbacks Eli Holstein, Kyle McCord give different look to Pitt-Syracuse matchup • Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew enjoys blocking, receiving equally • Back from injury, defensive tackles Sean FitzSimmons, Nick James give No. 19 Pitt options against Syracuse

2. Pass defense holds the key

The Syracuse game may be whittled down to how well Pitt’s secondary can control Orange quarterback Kyle McCord. If stats mean anything, look out. Pitt is 14th in the ACC allowing yards through the air (an average of 244.7), and Syracuse is No. 2 in aerial yards gained (365.2).

“He can throw that ball all around the yard,” redshirt sophomore cornerback Ryland Gandy said. “We just have to make sure that we do what we have to do to take him off his first read. That’s what we want to do with every quarterback and make them look somewhere else.”

The hope is while the quarterback is looking for an open receiver, the pass rush will get him. That’s how Pitt beat California, sacking Fernando Mendoza six times.

Gandy said McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, will be the best quarterback Pitt has faced so far this season.

3. Football from another view

Give Gandy credit for thinking about life past football. He said he’d like to pursue broadcast journalism at some point, and he got a taste of it Friday when he worked the Perry/Westinghouse high school game on radio station WAMO-FM with 93.7 FM sports director Jeff Hathhorn.

“It was a weird type of experience not being on the field,” Gandy said.

Growing up in Buford, Ga., Gandy thought about his life’s path.

“I thought about maybe I want to be a doctor,” he said. “Nah, never mind, so much blood. I thought about being a lawyer. I’m not too fond of school that I want to go another four years of school for law school. I thought why don’t I just stay in the sports industry and talk about sports. I know I can talk about football for days.”

4. Confidence goes a long way

Redshirt junior punter Caleb Junko has improved his average from 42.3 yards last season to 44.9 (fifth in the ACC). He was named to the watch list for the Ray Guy Award given annually to the nation’s best punter.

He credits self-confidence, which translates, he said, to “just knowing I have the ability to be great, and I know I’m going to go out there and do my job.

“It’s what coach Bro (special teams coach Jacob Bronowski) has instilled in me, telling me I’m great, telling me I’m going to be great.

“Last season, I was just going out there. I didn’t really have any conviction behind what I was doing, besides just kicking the ball. Now, I really have set goals, sticking to the form that he’s taught — overall stance, drop. He’s changed up how I was punting.”

Junko said he also followed lessons taught by senior kicker Ben Sauls, who taught him to “be a pro.”

“Treat every day like you’re coming in here, and this is your job,” Junko said Sauls taught him. “You have to take it seriously because this is our life, and it could be our future. Have a set goal for that day because that’s what’s going to make you great. Don’t fall off the path.”

Sauls has been perfect (38 for 38, 10 field goals, 28 extra points).

“He’s doing something right,” Junko said. “If I can learn from that, I’m going to be great, too.”

5. Let’s talk running backs

Narduzzi’s depth chart at running back has Rodney Hammond No. 2, behind Desmond Reid and ahead of Daniel Carter and Derrick Davis Jr. (Gateway).

Running backs coach Lindsey Lamar said all three backups are “kind of neck and neck.” The first player off the bench will be the one who best catches Lamar’s eye in practice.

Hammond has only five carries for 10 yards in the two games since his return from suspension, but Lamar said Hammond “slowly but surely” is regaining his previous form.

“Rodney does a tremendous job of being a leader more than anything,” he said. “Even when he was out, he still was around, leading the guys, talking to the guys, coaching the guys, encouraging the guys. Not just in our room, but on the whole team.”

Meanwhile, Reid, a native of Miami Gardens, Fla., displayed his toughness in another manner last week.

“The other day, it was pretty cold. You know us Florida guys,” said Lamar, a Tampa native. “But he went the whole practice with no gloves. My hands were freezing, so I know his were. He caught every single ball. That’s how he’s wired.”

Reid (5-foot-8) has proven his height is no detriment. But when Lamar, who himself was a bit undersized as a kick returner at USF, saw him, he said, “Man, I can eat peanuts off his head. It made me look big.”

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