Pat Narduzzi didn’t leave much room for interpretation on Friday.
In an interview with Atlanta radio station 680 The Fan, the Pitt head coach said the ACC is better than the Big Ten, and he doubled down hard. Narduzzi, now entering his 12th season with the Panthers, made it clear he’s not backing off that stance.
“I’ve said this for many years…This conference is as good as any conference in the country. I don’t care what you make and all that stuff.
I don’t care about how much resources you have, all the rest of that bologna…Coming from Michigan State, spent eight seasons there as the defensive coordinator, coming to Pitt in 2015, I said it then, I said it now-after about two years in the league, I said “This conference is better. It’s better than the Big Ten.
It’s got more skill.”... I’ve said that for years, and I’m going to stick to my guns.”
Narduzzi also argued that the ACC has a winning record against both Big Ten and SEC opponents. That part does have some basis, but only if you narrow the lens to the first two seasons of his Pitt tenure. During that stretch, the ACC was 10-6 against the Big Ten and 14-10 against the SEC.
Since then, though, the numbers have swung the other way. Over the next nine years, the ACC went 20-35 against Big Ten teams and 38-60 against SEC teams.
Still, there’s enough there to keep the debate alive. The ACC has beaten the SEC in two of the last three seasons, which gives Narduzzi at least a sliver of support. The bigger question is whether that’s evidence of a real shift or just a snapshot from a different era.
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