Charlotte, North Carolina - The Pittsburgh Panthers continued their winning ways, rolling right through the 2021 ACC Championship Game to wipe out the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday night.

The Panthers demolished the Deacons 45-21 for their fifth-straight victory, but more importantly, won the school’s first ACC college football championship.

There was plenty of offense right out of the gate with Pitt scoring a touchdown first, followed by a touchdown by Wake Forest to tie the game.

Both teams went back-and-forth again with touchdowns – and the first quarter wasn’t even over yet.

Wake then Forest got into the end zone one more time to head into the second, up 21-14.

The Panthers defense rose to another level and worked hard to keep the Deacons off of the scoreboard for the rest of the game, as they spent the next three quarters scoring touchdown after touchdown.

Even Pitt’s defense found the end zone after grabbing their fourth interception of the game, picking up a touchdown return to close things out once and for all.

Pitt’s senior quarterback Kenny Pickett (23) threw an impressive game during his team's blowout win over Wake Forest.

His numbers weren’t among the greatest of college football’s championship weekend, but his first-half play helped establish a momentum that allowed the Panthers to control the game all the way through.

He threw for two scores in the first half that kept Pitt neck-and-neck with the Deacons before they took a lead that they didn't relinquish.

He also set the ACC record for most touchdown passes in a season with 42.

Pickett finished the game with 20-for-33 passing, 253 yards, and two touchdowns.

Both teams aren’t ranked high enough for consideration for this year's college football playoffs, but it was exciting to see Pittsburgh play like they could battle with the best of them.

They’re ranked fourth in the nation in total yards gained with 514.3 yards per game, and also fourth in points scored per game with 42.8.

None of the top-four teams projected to take the four playoff spots – Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, and Cincinnati – have better numbers in those categories than Pittsburgh.

Both Pitt and Wake Forest must now wait to see where they will play an upcoming bowl game.