Former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis has won the starting quarterback job with the Pitt Panthers.

The program announced the decision on Wednesday, naming Slovis the starter over Nick Patti, who spent the last three seasons as Kenny Pickett’s backup. Patti completed 14-of-19 passes for the Panthers last season. The appointment of Slovis as Pitt’s starting quarterback sets up a Week 1 matchup between former USC quarterbacks.

Pitt plays West Virginia to open the season. The Mountaineers will bring former USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and quarterback JT Daniels to the Backyard Brawl to face Slovis.

Slovis started in parts of three seasons for USC before deciding to transfer this offseason. He completed 68.4% of his passes for 7,576 yards and 58 touchdowns over that span. He and Jaxson Dart split time last season as USC sputtered following the early-season coaching change.

Daniels spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at USC before transferring to Georgia. After graduating a year early from high school, Daniels earned the starting quarterback job as a true freshman, becoming only the second first-year player to start a season-opener at QB in program history. He threw for 2,672 yards with 14 TDs and 10 interceptions in 11 starts. He won the starting job again in 2019, but tore his ACL in the first half of the opener and missed the rest of the year.

After two seasons with the Bulldogs, Daniels transferred to West Virginia this offseason.

Given the way USC’s offseason has unfolded, one could make the argument things have worked out well for USC quarterbacks. Caleb Williams is the Trojans’ starter and a Heisman front-runner. Slovis is a starter for the reigning ACC champs. Daniels gets a starting job once again after backing up Stetson Bennett at UGA. And Dart is pushing for the job at Ole Miss.

Pitt and West Virginia kick off at 4:00 p.m. PT on Thursday, Sept. 1. USC begins its season two days later against Rice.