2009 Pittsburgh Panthers Football Team - Rankings

Rankings

See also: 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

The official preseason rankings are normally released in August of the same season, but various publications annually release early projections throughout the spring and summer. The Panthers have received mixed reviews from such publications. Phil Steele ranked the Panthers at #23. The Sporting News picked the Panthers to win the conference, but Athlon Sports, who left the Panthers out of their early rankings, project the them to finish in fourth place. The Congrove Computer Rankings, a computer program that determines a team's ranking based upon projected regular season results, ranked the Panthers at #12 and predicted an 11–1 regular season record. The Panthers began the season unranked and just outside of the Top 25 in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll.

The Panthers found themselves in the "others receiving votes" category of the major polls throughout the first half of the season, and they officially moved into the Top 25 rankings in all four of the major polls following their October 16 victory at Rutgers. The Panthers climbed several move positions in each poll the following week as a result of their victory over South Florida.

Ranking Movement

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
AP	rv	rv	rv	rv	--	rv	rv	20	16	14	8	8	8	14	17	15
Coaches	rv	rv	rv	rv	--	rv	rv	19	17	14	9	9	9	15	16	15
Harris	Not releasedA				rv	rv	rv	20	17	15	9	9	9	15	16
BCS	Not releasedB							20	15	13	12	9	9	15	17

Notes

• A The first Harris Interactive Poll was released after the fourth week of games, and the final version will be released at the conclusion of the regular season but prior to the bowl season.
• B The first BCS Ranking was released after the sixth week of games, and the final ranking will be released at the conclusion of the regular season but prior to the bowl season.