Pitt Head Coach Boasts More Favorable Schedule

Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi said that this season's schedule will favor a better second half.

Oct 18, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi looks on prior to the game against the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

2026 ACC Football Kickoff began July 16, allowing for all ACC head coaches and key players from each team to speak to the media.

Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi was asked about the adjustments the team was going to make in the 2027 season so they could avoid another late-season collapse.

"We adjusted it already, this year we're not playing Miami and Notre Dame at the end of the year" Narduzzi said. "We had a pretty good run, but we didn't play our best games in those. We'll have our chance again someday."

2025

After moving true freshman Mason Heintschel to the starting quarterback spot in their fourth game of the season, Pitt went on a five-game winning streak to be 7-2, which included a win over ranked Florida State. The hype around Pitt even got ESPN's College GameDay to host their show in Pittsburgh for the Panthers' matchup with No. 9 Notre Dame. The game did not match the hype, as Pitt was routed on their home field by the Fighting Irish.

The Panthers were able to bounce back with an impressive road win over No. 16 Georgia Tech. But with a chance to make the ACC Championship the following week, Pitt was again blown out on their home field, this time to Miami.

Coach Narduzzi didn't mention that Pitt also lost in their bowl game to Eastern Carolina, a good team but vastly inferior to the juggernauts of Miami and Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler (8) knocks the ball away from Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Cataurus Hicks (3) during the first half at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on November 15, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

2024

The season before saw an even worse second-half collapse. After starting the season with a blazing 7-0 start, full of incredible comebacks and road victories, an ugly loss to SMU and an injury to quarterback Eli Holstein derailed the season. Pitt lost six straight games, including a bowl loss to Toledo.

2026 Schedule

Coach Narduzzi says that this upcoming schedule has a more favorable end to the season. Is it really?

The hardest projected game, at Miami, will be Oct 24 for the eighth game of the season. The Panthers then host Georgia Tech the following week, followed by a bye week. So, definitely not an easy stretch, but much easier than playing Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and then Miami in the last three weeks of the season.

After the bye-week, Pitt will host Florida State, who could be good but also are not the strongest in the second half of the college football season. The Panthers end the season with back-to-back road games, the first against Louisville. The Cardinals have given Pitt a lot of problems the past few years, so that game won't be an easy one. The last game of the season is against Cal, a team that hasn't been the strongest since joining the ACC.

While Pitt's second half of the season isn't going to be easy, there are no incredibly brutal stretches that we saw last season. In college football, you never know when a team that may seem like an easy matchup in the preseason is one you don't want to play halfway through. But, for now, the schedule favors a strong second half.

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