The disrespect thing is nothing new at Pitt, which was once snubbed from bowl participation even as it ended up finishing ranked third in the country in the old UPI (coaches) poll. That would be 1963, when some oddities associated with the end of that season, including a week's worth of games postponed in late November due to the assassination of JFK, didn't properly mesh with the awarding of bowl bids. John Michelosen's 9-1 Panthers powerhouse was thus left hoping for Army to upset Roger Staubach's Navy in one of the all-time Commander-in-Chief's classics won in harrowing fashion by the Mids, who instead earned the right to face top-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl. (There weren't a plethora of Famous Idaho Potato and Quick Lane-like bowls to extend invites in those days.) That would be it for the Panthers for the next decade, becoming the Rip Van Winkles of college football before Johnny Majors arrived from Iowa State and recruited a RB named Tony Dorsett. The rest, as they say, is history.

Nowadays, the Panthers aren't being overlooked for bowls but are still apt to be downgraded, such as this season when most preseason publications and prognostications have Pitt in the middle of the ACC table. This from a program that aside from Clemson has probably been the best in the league for the past few years as guided by the somewhat underappreciated Pat Narduzzi, who spent much of his career coordinating defenses for Mark Dantonio before finally getting his chance at Pitt. Indeed, across the past two years, only Dabo Swinney (with 21 wins) has outdistanced Narduzzi (20 wins) in the loop.

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Pittsburgh's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the ACC season.

ACC preview: Conference winner | Boston College | Clemson | Duke | Florida State | Georgia Tech | Louisville | Miami | NC State | North Carolina | Pittsburgh | Syracuse | Virginia | Virginia Tech | Wake Forest

2023 Pittsburgh at a glance

• Last Year: 9-4 SU, 6-7 ATS, 9-3-1 O/U
  
• Returning Starters: Offense 6; Defense 5
• Win Total: 7 (Over -115, Under -115)
  

What do you need to know about Pittsburgh before locking in your ACC futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see ACC futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!