Pitt's Pat Narduzzi Makes Bold Claim About Notre Dame Matchup

PITTSBURGH - Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi has made it very clear whether he considers a ranked matchup vs. Notre Dame a "must-win" opportunity.

In fact, he might have even gone a bit too far when responding to a question about whether his squad needs to beat No. 9 Notre Dame at Acrisure Stadium this weekend - a matchup that will have College GameDay in town.

"Absolutely not," Narduzzi said today at his weekly press conference. "It is not an ACC game. I'm glad you brought that up. It's not an ACC game. I would gladly be beat 103 or 110-10 in that game. They can put up 100 on us as long as we win the next two after that.

"Again, our focus is on Notre Dame and getting as many wins as we can, one at a time."

Oct 18, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi looks on against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Is Narduzzi Right?

While it's true that Pitt doesn't need to beat Notre Dame to keep its conference aspirations alive, a win against the Fighting Irish would go a long way in gaining respect from the College Football Playoff committee.

Pitt is sitting at 7-2 (5-1 ACC) and ranked 23rd in the AP Poll and 24th in the College Football Playoff poll, which will be updated tomorrow night. There's a lot of chaos atop the ACC right now, with five teams having one loss, and while the Panthers don't control their own destiny, wins against Georgia Tech and Miami would position them for an ACC title bid.

So, even if the Panthers do win out, if SMU doesn't lose a game and the winner of a matchup between Duke and Virginia doesn't lose another game, the Panthers will be on the outside looking in. A win against Notre Dame would be a serious resume booster.

Pitt hasn't had good luck against Notre Dame in recent season, which is why Narduzzi brought up the 103-10 deficit, considering the last two matchups have ended in 45-3 and 58-7 losses. But to Narduzzi, it's just another game.

"There's nothing personal about it," Narduzzi said. "It's the next game. Nobody cares about what happened in 2020 when Joey Yellen was playing quarterback. Nobody cares in 2023 when we went there, and the first three series of the game I think we turned them over and scored zero points. I think their first touchdown was on a punt return for a touchdown, and I told you they're really good on special teams. It will be a special teams war, because we're a lot better than we were in 2023.

"That's why they play the game, 2025. Again, the past doesn't matter. You can take all the scores to -- what was it, 103-10? You can take all those scores, and we'll find out what happens Saturday. That's why you play the game."

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