Once Again, Pitt's Pat Narduzzi Says, 'We'd Love to Play Penn State'

At ACC media days, the Panthers' coach floats rivalry renewal with the Nittany Lions.

Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi and Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin meet on the field following a game at Beaver Stadium. / Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Another year of college football means another opportunity for Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi to make his case to renew his program’s historic rivalry with Penn State. It’s become an almost annual tradition at this point.

Narduzzi brought up the Nittany Lions on his own Tuesday at ACC Media Days when asked about the recent renewal of the Backyard Brawl with West Virginia, which the Panthers will play for a third consecutive season in 2024.

"We embrace rivalries," Narduzzi said. "We'd love to play Penn State if they would play us. If they won't play us, we'd love to play West Virginia as many times as we could play them. They're coming back to Pittsburgh. Our kids couldn't be more excited. They have an idea after two years what a real rivalry game is. I think you need to lose a rivalry game to understand what it means to you.

"I think you have to lose one to know, I don't ever want to lose a rivalry game again. That's kind of what we go into this game with in '24."

Pitt, which split the past two Backyard Brawl games with West Virginia, has not faced Penn State since 2019. Since then, Narduzzi has suggested renewing the rivalry while Penn State has moved in a different direction. The Nittany Lions will open their 2024 season at West Virginia on Aug. 31, completing a two-game renewal of that particular rivalry game.

Perhaps echoing Narduzzi’s thoughts on the opportunity to play a perennially ranked Big Ten program, Mountaineers coach Neal Brown told reporters at Big 12 Media Days that the Penn State game is “huge for us.” 

"It's not just a big game for West Virginia," Brown said. "It's a big game for our league, and it's an opportunity for our league and this new Big 12, without a couple schools that have been a part of the Big 12 for a long time in that first weekend on a marquee stage, to show what kind of football that we play in this league."

Penn State coach James Franklin isn’t a stranger to scheduling quality nonconference opponents, having coached a two-game series against Auburn in 2021-22 along with the Mountaineers’ series. But with an expanding Big Ten and a conference schedule stuck at a difficult nine games, there’s becoming even less room for an added meeting with the Panthers.

"To me, it needs to be an even exchange and it needs to make sense," Franklin said of renewing the Pitt rivalry on the Penn State Coaches Show last fall. "But I think our [athletic directors] should get on the phone and work it out. I’ll tell them that it’s important to you, and we’ll see if it makes sense for both programs."

Franklin will appear at Big Ten Football Media Days on Wednesday in Indianapolis. Though a Pitt-Penn State series renewal wasn't a storyline before this week, perhaps it will be now.

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Seth Engle has covered Penn State football and men’s basketball for the past four years, most recently serving as the football editor of the Daily Collegian. His work has appeared in the Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PennLive, Centre Daily Times and more. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @bigsengtweets.