Pitt coach Pitt Narduzzi made an eyebrow-raising comment at ACC Kickoff on Wednesday afternoon in Charlotte.
Asked about the addition of legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick to the ACC, Narduzzi issued quite the challenge to his new conference foe.
“I expect them to be in the championship game against Pitt this year,” Narduzzi said. “You got Bill Belichick, you better be, right?”
Consider the gauntlet thrown. Narduzzi is no stranger to the ACC Championship Game, having led the Panthers to that stage in 2021 and 2018. Pitt won the ACC title in 2021, beating a Sam Hartman-led Wake Forest team to clinch an Orange Bowl berth.
For Belichick, this will be his first season as a college football head coach. North Carolina is expected to be competitive this season after bringing in a strong group of transfers, but the Tar Heels aren’t among the ACC’s betting favorites in Vegas to win the conference title. Per the latest odds from BetMGM, Carolina is +2500 to win the ACC this season. Pitt is an even bigger longshot at +4000.
North Carolina and Pitt don’t play each other during the regular season, so any head-to-head matchup will have to wait until the postseason — or perhaps further down the road.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
