Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Ranked Sixth in ACC By CBS Sports

The Pitt Panthers head coach fell in the middle of the pack in the conference.
Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Ranked Sixth in ACC By CBS Sports
Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Ranked Sixth in ACC By CBS Sports /
In this story:

PITTSBURGH -- Pat Narduzzi may have taken a couple of years to really get his Pitt Panthers moving but once he did, he made the program one of the better in their conference and the Power 5. 

But after leading the Panthers to 20 wins over two seasons, consecutive top 25 finishes and an ACC Championship, Narduzzi still falls in the middle of the pack of head coaches in his conference, according to a recent poll from CBS Sports. 

CBS and 247Sports' college football staffs came together this offseason to rank the head coaches in the ACC and Narduzzi checked in at sixth, trailing Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Wake Forest's Dave Clawson, Florida State's Mike Norvell, North Carolina's Mack Brown and NC State's Dave Doeren. 

"Narduzzi lost a Heisman finalist at quarterback, had to cycle through signal-callers due to various injury issues in 2022 and still managed to win eight regular-season games -- including a bowl victory over UCLA," Will Backus wrote. "This came a year after he led the Panthers to their first ACC championship in program history and first New Year's Six bowl appearance since 2004. Narduzzi has just one losing season on his ledger as Pitt's head coach."

Narduzzi also placed sixth in last season's voting of this same poll, but fell two spots from No. 27 to No. 29 in the ranking of all Power 5 head coaches. In a write up of those rankings, CBS's Tom Fornelli acknowledged that the logic of these rankings don't always make sense. 

"Earning respect from our voters is not easy for Narduzzi," He wrote. "Last year, I remarked that Narduzzi climbed only four spots in our rankings to No. 27 after reaching the ACC Championship and a New Year's Six bowl. Meanwhile, two SEC coaches jumped at least 20 spots for going 7-6. This year, Narduzzi follows an 11-3 season with a 9-4 year despite losing his Heisman Trophy finalist QB and drops two spots!"

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Pitt Transfer Target Joe Toussaint Commits to Texas Tech

Mouhamadou Gueye Makes Raptors Summer League Roster

Pitt Ranks Top 10 in Recent Total NFL Draft Picks

Pitt Makes Final Five for Four-Star DE Mylachi Williams

Pitt Expected to Regress in 2023

Pitt Contacts 2025 SG Akbar Waheed


Published
Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work: