Pitt HC Deems ACC Best Conference

The Pitt Panthers head coach praises ACC Football.

Aug 31, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi looks on against the Kent State Golden Flashes during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The ACC hasn't received the same amount of respect as a football conference that the other Power 4 Conferences do, something that Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi disagrees with.

Miami losing to Georgia Tech on the road last weekend dropped them from No. 4 to No. 12 in the latest AP Poll, giving the ACC no teams in the top 10. There are three other top 25 teams in the ACC, in No. 14 SMU, No. 17 Clemson and No. 22 Louisville

The Big Ten has four teams in the top 10 (No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State, No. 5 Indiana), the SEC also has four teams in the top 10 (No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Ole Miss), while No. 7 BYU in the Big 12 and independent No. 8 Notre Dame round it out.

While the ACC may not have the best teams in the country, their four ranked teams is tied with the Big Ten for the second most a conference has, behind the SEC with eight teams.

Pitt suffered defeats to then ranked No. 20 SMU on the road in Week 10, 48-25, and a 24-19 loss to Virginia at home in Week 11 in their last matchup, dropping them to 7-2 on the season and 3-2 in the ACC.

Narduzzi spoke on the strength of the ACC from the best team to the worst team and that teams tend to hurt each other because any team can in win any given week.

"I'll say this again, the ACC from top to bottom is the best conference out there," Narduzzi said. "Every weekend anybody can beat anybody. The Virginia football team was a good team. They've got their whole entire offensive line back. They were down three guys. They weren't out for the year.

"I think the ACC top to bottom is really good. Yeah, it hurts when you're beating each other up, no question about it."

The ACC received the ultimate disrespect last season when the conference Champion and 13-0 Florida State missed out on the College Football Playoff, with both SEC Champion Alabama and Big 12 Champion Texas making it in over them, who both had a loss in the regular season.

The CFP expanded to 12 teams this season, with the ACC Champion serving as one of the four teams earning a first round-bye.

Miami, who only has one loss, is behind Alabama, Ole Miss and Georgia, who have two losses each and also to Notre Dame, who lost to Northern Illinois at home.

SMU, who also has just one defeat to No. 7 BYU at home in Week 2, 18-15, dropped a spot in the AP Poll despite not playing a game last weekend.

Narduzzi, who has led Pitt to the third most wins in the ACC since he took over in 2015 with a 44-35 record, isn't surprised by the disrespect the conference has received to start the season or even now.

"Probably. I don't go evaluate it. The disrespect is there preseason. I'm sure it's there midseason."

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