Pitt’s 2027 ACC road map is set, and the Panthers are staring at a nine-game league slate with four home dates and five trips away from Acrisure Stadium.
The conference released opponents for all 17 member schools, giving Pitt a first look at who’s coming to Pittsburgh and where the Panthers will be traveling next season. It’s Pitt’s second year playing a nine-game ACC schedule.
At home, the Panthers will get a mix of familiar names and some long-absent visitors. Cal is back in Pittsburgh after Pitt’s 17-15 win in Week 7 of the 2024 season, and this will be the Golden Bears’ third visit to Acrisure Stadium. Their first meeting in Pittsburgh goes all the way back to 1955.
Duke is also headed to Pittsburgh. Pitt last played the Blue Devils in 2023 and last hosted them in 2022. Before that, the two schools met every year from 2013-19 and again from 2021-23, with the first nine matchups coming in the old ACC Coastal Division.
Miami will return to Pittsburgh too, after rolling past Pitt 38-7 in the 2025 regular-season finale at Acrisure Stadium. That means the Panthers will see the Hurricanes in three straight seasons, with Pitt also scheduled to go to Hard Rock Stadium for a Week 8 matchup.
Wake Forest and SMU will each play in Pittsburgh for the first time this century. SMU’s last trip to Pittsburgh came in 1948, and Pitt dropped a 48-25 game in Dallas in the teams’ first ACC meeting in 2024.
Wake Forest has never played in Pittsburgh since Pitt joined the ACC in 2013. The Panthers and Demon Deacons have met four times overall, including Pitt’s win in the 2021 ACC Championship Game, a road win in 2018 that clinched the ACC Coastal Division title, and a road loss in 2023.
The Panthers’ road slate brings a little more familiarity. Pitt will go to Georgia Tech and Syracuse, two teams it also visited in 2025. Pitt plays Syracuse every year, alternating home and away just like it does with Boston College.
There are a couple of notable road tests that stand out. Pitt will travel to NC State for the first time since 2009, and it will be the first ACC game between the schools in Raleigh. The Panthers have hosted the Wolfpack in each of the last three meetings, losing in 2017 and 2020 before winning in 2025.
Pitt will also head to Virginia for the first time since 2022. Back then, both teams were still in the ACC Coastal, and the two met at Acrisure Stadium.
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The nights extras are designed to make an early arrival worthwhile, with halftime entertainment featuring an illuminated Pitt Band performance and rooftop fireworks. Fans are also being asked to plan ahead because parking will be affected after a Pittsburgh Pirates game, giving the whole evening a downtown feel before the Panthers and Orange even take the field. [Read more 🡒]
Pitt May Have Found An Early Backfield Surprise Worth Watching
Damon Ferguson Jr. arrived at Pitt late in June, but the freshman running back is already making himself part of the conversation. With Ja'Kyrian Turner back in the mix, Ferguson stepped in for a recent game and produced 59 rushing yards along with a touchdown, giving the Panthers a useful spark while showing he can handle more than just emergency duty.
Pat Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Kade Bell have both taken notice of the way Ferguson has handled the challenge, especially considering how little prep time he had when he joined the program. He has also become the only Pitt player to score in each of the teams first two games, which gives the Panthers another intriguing option to track as the offense settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Pitt's Unbeaten Start Faces Its First Real ACC Test
Pitts unbeaten start now gets the kind of ACC test that can tell us a lot about where the Panthers really stand. Syracuse comes to Acrisure Stadium in a matchup that carries some familiar conference weight, and the backdrop is simple enough: Pitt has handled what has been in front of it so far, but this one arrives with a different level of scrutiny, the sort that tends to sharpen the edges of a season.
The series history adds a little more intrigue, even if recent performance and the betting markets point everyone toward the same question of whether Pitt can keep the momentum rolling. Forecasts and recommended plays are already circling the game, with a predicted score giving the Panthers the edge, but the bigger story is whether this is the night an unbeaten start starts to look sustainable against a real league challenge. [Read more 🡒]