Pat Narduzzi picked a strange hill to die on at Media Day.
The Pitt coach didn’t just argue that the ACC can stand with the Big Ten. He went further, saying the ACC is better and has more skill, and he made it clear he’s not backing off that stance.
“It’s better than the Big Ten; it’s got more skill… I’ve said that for years, and I’m gonna stick to my guns.”
That’s a bold line to throw out in a conference debate, especially when the results around the Big Ten keep pointing the other way. Ohio State has no trouble handling teams from outside its own league, and the Buckeyes’ run to a national championship a couple of years ago included wins over Big Ten, SEC and independent opponents.
The point is bigger than one team, though. The Big Ten as a whole has backed up its reputation, and the recent bowl record over the last three years has only strengthened the case that it’s been the best conference in the country.
Narduzzi’s own numbers make the argument even harder to sell. He is 1-6 against the Big Ten during his time at Pitt, and the Panthers are 0-2 in postseason games under him. That doesn’t exactly scream “more skill” than the league he’s taking shots at.
Ohio State, meanwhile, would be a nightmare matchup for Pitt if the teams ever lined up again. The Buckeyes haven’t played the Panthers in a while, but based on talent alone, they’d be expected to overwhelm them. The source material leaves only one ACC team as a possible problem for Ohio State: Miami, which gave them a tougher fight in the Cotton Bowl.
And Ohio State has a chance to make the whole discussion look even sillier. If the Buckeyes win a national championship this season, it would be their second in three years. It would also make it four straight years that a Big Ten team has claimed the title.
The ACC, by contrast, hasn’t won a national championship in about a decade, back when Clemson was on top. The conference is now left hoping Miami can carry over the momentum it built a year ago.
Ryan Day isn’t interested in talking like Narduzzi. He knows where Ohio State fits in the national picture, and he’s already guided the Buckeyes through some difficult games. Now he’s trying to finish the job and check off all three of his goals in the same season, something he still hasn’t done in his career.
In Other News...
Michigan Just Took Another Major Hit Behind The Scenes
Michigans athletic department is dealing with another round of turbulence behind the scenes, with athletic director Warde Manuel reportedly expected to exit at the end of the calendar year. The move comes after an outside firm examined the culture inside the department, though the findings have not been made public, leaving plenty of questions about what prompted the latest shake-up in Ann Arbor.
For Ohio State, the news serves as another reminder of how different things have looked across the rivalry when it comes to athletic department stability. The Buckeyes have largely avoided the kind of public scandal and internal uncertainty now hovering over Michigan, and that contrast matters in a sport where off-field order can be just as important as what happens on game day. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Development Could Suddenly Reshape Ohio States Running Back Board
A recruiting domino in Tennessee is starting to matter well beyond Knoxville. Asa Barnes, the Tennessee running back target from the Volunteer State, is leaning toward staying home, and that could help clarify the top of the board for a pair of programs watching the same market closely. For Ohio State, the ripple effect is less about Barnes himself and more about how one decision can shape the path for another back the Buckeyes have their eyes on.
David Gabriel Georges is the name to watch next, with his choice expected to come after Barnes sorts out his future. Tennessee and Ohio State are both positioned around that decision, but the two schools do not present the same kind of running back picture, and that contrast could wind up mattering as the process unfolds. If Barnes lands where the momentum suggests, the rest of the board may start to move in a direction that gives the Buckeyes a cleaner read on where they stand. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Just Hit The Urban Meyer Comparison Fans Dread
Ryan Days Ohio State tenure has now reached the point where the comparisons to Urban Meyer are no longer just about style or expectations. Through seven seasons, the two coaches have lived in the same rarefied air in Columbus, each delivering a national championship and multiple Big Ten crowns while navigating very different versions of college football. The numbers are close enough to invite the conversation, and the circumstances around those numbers are different enough to keep it from being a simple one-to-one matchup.
The larger question is how to weigh all of it. Day has had to coach through the pandemic, the transfer-portal era and a sport that keeps changing around him, while Ohio States path through the Big Ten has also been shaped by expansion and a Michigan scandal that altered the landscape. So the Meyer comparison is flattering on one hand and nerve-wracking on the other, because it puts Day in the same sentence as a standard Buckeye fans still remember vividly. [Read more 🡒]