Pitt hosts Notre Dame on Saturday, and it's kind of a big deal. GameDay will be in the Steel City for the first time in 20 years. Afterward, the 23rd-ranked Panthers and the 9th-ranked Fighting Irish will play at noon ET on ABC on a game likely to be watched by upwards of 5 million people. As the No. 2 football team in a decidedly Steelers-first city, it's a rare opportunity to actually fill Whatever They're Calling It Now Stadium. The home team has won five straight contests. Pitt and Notre Dame have played 73 times previously, and Pitt won only 21 of the previous 72 -- most recently in 2013. Head coach Pat Narduzzi is 0-4 against the Irish.
Those are plenty of reasons to get excited, and plenty of storylines to get the city of Pittsburgh behind the Panthers, but those won't likely be what the public hears. Instead it'll be this quote.
"Absolutely not," Narduzzi said when asked whether Saturday is a must-win game. "It is not an ACC game. I'm glad you brought that up. It's not an ACC game. I'd gladly get beat 103 or 110-10 in that game. They could put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that."
Q: “Do you feel like the Notre Dame game is a must-win?”
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) November 10, 2025
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi: “Absolutely not. It is not an ACC game…I’d gladly get beat 103 or 110 to 10…They could put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that.”
Interesting stance for a head coach to take. pic.twitter.com/CDSKfp5xNQ
Setting aside everything else, let's just examine this aspect: even by Narduzzi's own argument he's still not even totally correct.
Getting to the ACC Championship is one thing, winning it and getting into the College Football Playoff is another.
As we explained earlier today, right now the ACC is a 1-bid league for the Playoff, and the team standing most in the way of a second ACC bid is... Notre Dame. Pitt can knock Notre Dame out of the Playoff with a win Saturday, and in doing so: A) open up a (slight) possibility of making the field as an at-large in the event the Panthers lose the ACC title game, and B) Pitt can also improve (or damage) its seeding within the tournament depending on Saturday's results.
And then there's the psychological aspect of showing up for work on Sunday after you've just lost the biggest home game in 20 years by literally 100 points.
No one expects Narduzzi to get into the nuances of Playoff seeding when asked about the ramifications of this brief but highly anticipated break from ACC play. Just don't say... whatever you just said.