SB Nation • 6 min read

Matchup history: FSU vs. Pitt

A series dating back to 1971, the football history between the Florida State Seminoles and Pitt Panthers has been a competitive, albeit sporadic affair. The two schools have met 11 times, with Pitt holding

a 6-5 record over Florida State. Their matchups seemed to have coincided with when the programs were individually good to great.

The series began on Nov. 27, 1971, with Florida State winning 31-13 in Tallahassee. The Seminoles followed with another victory in 1972 before the tide shifted in Pitt’s favor in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. A fledgling Florida State program used the series (as it did with many prominent opponents in the era) to try and elevate itself as Bobby Bowden’s squad faced off against the Panthers five times in the span of the coach’s first six years with the program. Pitt was a national powerhouse then, taking five of six meetings from 1974 to 1983, though FSU did manage to pull off an upset of the Dan Marino-led No. 4 Panthers in 1980 and came just short of a victory in 1978.

The series took a hiatus for 30 years until Pitt joined the ACC in 2013, with the matchup serving as a coming-out party for eventual Heisman winner Jameis Winston, who went 25-27 for 356 yards and four touchdowns (as well as a rushing touchdown) as the Seminoles notched a 41-13 blowout win at then-Heinz Field.

The two then met in the first season of the Mike Norvell era, another lopsided result — though this time a 41-17 loss at the hands of Pitt and Kenny Pickett. The program’s most recent matchup saw Florida State triumph with a 24-7 win on the road, a victory that officially locked in FSU for the ACC Championship.

Coming into the 2025 game, both teams are 3-2 and have both found themselves on two-game losing streaks this season. Pitt snapped its slump with a victory over hapless Boston College, while FSU will look to not just stay above .500 but even the all-time series against the Panthers.

The 12th game in the series will kick off on Saturday, October 11th at 12 p.m. ET, with the game set to be broadcast on ESPN.