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Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi has taken full advantage of all the press at ACC Kickoff. Social media had many feelings about his controversial take on the ACC, saying that it was better than the Big Ten and that the ACC has "more skill."
Even though Narduzzi was talking about the conference as a whole, of course, his personal 1-6 record against the Big Ten has been brought up. Pitt rarely faces Big Ten teams, but Narduzzi's next chance to back up his statement is a little over a year away.
Next Matchup
Pitt's next matchup against a Big Ten team will be against Wisconsin overseas. The Panthers and Badgers will play for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug 28, 2027.
Pitt and Wisconsin were supposed to play in Madison during the upcoming 2026 season, but there was a mutual agreement to cancel it. The game was replaced with Pitt hosting FCS school Bucknell on Sep 26.
As of now, the matchup with Wisconsin is the only Big Ten team in Pitt football's future schedules. Though Narduzzi did mention he reached out to Penn State's coach about bringing that rivalry back up, the second year in a row he mentioned this at ACC Kickoff.
Previous Big Ten Matchups
Pitt's last matchup against a Big Ten team was Michigan State in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in 2021. Despite it being Narduzzi's most successful year with the program, winning the ACC Championship, the Spartans defeated the Panthers 31-21.
The last regular season matchup was a 17-10 loss at Penn State in 2019.
This upcoming season actually marks the ten-year anniversary of Pitt last beating a Big Ten team, when the Panthers defended home field against Penn State in a 42-39 win in the 2016 season.
Last December, the ACC announced it was implementing a nine-conference game schedule for every team. This leaves Pitt with a little less room in the future to schedule Big Ten teams, as they only have three games per season to work with now. One game every season will be against an easy opponent, so that leaves two to be against a Power Four conference team.
A Pitt team that has been surprisingly good against the Big Ten recently is men's basketball. The team defeated Ohio State via game-winners in both home-and-home series games. They also blew out Penn State on a neutral site last season, and have another matchup with the Nittany Lions scheduled for the upcoming season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/pittsburgh as Pitt's Next Big Ten Matchup After Pat Narduzzi Comments.
