Pat Narduzzi walked into ACC Media Days and came out with a quote that did him no favors.
The Pitt coach went on the record and declared the ACC better than the Big Ten, backing it up with the kind of confidence that sounds strong until the numbers show up. He said, “This conference is as good as any conference in the country,” and then doubled down: “I don’t care what you make and all that.
I don’t care about how many resources you have and all that baloney. Talk about different conferences and what they make… Coming from Michigan State, spent eight seasons there.
Coming to Pitt in 2015, I said it then, I said it now. After about two years in the league, 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.”
There’s nothing unusual about a coach talking up his own league. That part is standard issue. The problem is that Narduzzi didn’t just praise the ACC - he tried to put it ahead of the Big Ten, and that’s where the math gets ugly.
He tried to support the argument by pointing to records against Big Ten and SEC teams, saying, “You look at our record,” Narduzzi said. “You look at our record in bowl games against the SEC and Big Ten.
You look at our record in the regular season. We don’t have a losing record; we have a winning record against those teams.”
That line doesn’t hold up very well, whether he means Pitt or the conference as a whole.
At Pitt, Narduzzi’s only win as head coach against the Big Ten came in 2016 against Penn State. Since then, he’s dropped six straight. Iowa beat him in 2015, Northwestern got him in 2016, and three more of the losses came against the Nittany Lions.
And if the “our” in his comments is supposed to mean the ACC, the picture gets worse. Last season, the ACC finished 2-4 against the Big Ten and went 1-2 in bowl games.
The season before that, it was 4-5 and 1-3. In the 2020s, the ACC is 15-23 against the Big Ten and 3-12 in bowl games.
The last time the ACC had a winning record against the Big Ten was 2016, and that was one of only three seasons since 2000 when the league finished above .500 in those matchups.
Nebraska, meanwhile, has at least handled ACC teams reasonably well lately. The Huskers are 2-1 in their last three games against the conference, including the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College.
So if Narduzzi was looking for a conference fight, he picked the wrong side of the numbers.
In Other News...
UCLA May Have Finally Found Nico Iamaleava's No. 1 Target
UCLAs receiver room has been one of the biggest questions around Nico Iamaleava, and Bob Chesney has spent the offseason trying to answer it by adding transfer help. The Bruins needed more proven options on the outside, and spring practice has started to show which newcomers might be ready to step into meaningful roles.
One player who has clearly caught the staffs attention is Brian Rowe Jr., with offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy pointing to his versatility and the way he has handled the spring workload. He is part of a crowded mix of transfer and returning receivers all trying to carve out a place in the offense, but the early signs suggest UCLA may have at least one target emerging for Iamaleava as the Bruins keep sorting out who can separate in a rebuilt group. [Read more 🡒]
UCLAs Fall Camp Outlook Suddenly Rests On One Position Group
Bob Chesney has spent the offseason remaking UCLAs roster for 2026, and the scale of the turnover is hard to miss. With 42 transfer additions and 20 freshmen coming in, the Bruins have new faces all over the depth chart, and the early read on the roster is that several groups should look noticeably stronger, especially up front on both lines, at receiver and in the secondary.
Even with that influx of help, fall camp still seems to hinge on one spot more than any other. The quarterback room remains the biggest question, and how that group settles in will shape how much those upgraded pieces around it can matter once the season starts. For a team that has clearly invested in building more balance and more depth, the next few weeks will go a long way toward showing whether the offense can finally match the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Assistant Just Gave Bruins Fans Another Reason To Trust Europe
Nemanja Yogi Jovanovic keeps giving UCLA a useful reminder that the Bruins reach does not stop at the Pacific. The assistant coach, who also runs Serbias U20 national team, just guided his country to a silver medal at the U20 European Championships, another sign that his connections and credibility overseas are more than a nice extra on the staff. Since joining UCLA in 2023, he has brought a deep background in both the U.S. and Europe, and that blend has become part of the programs broader recruiting pitch.
For UCLA, the value goes beyond one summer tournament run. Jovanovics profile helps the Bruins stay in the conversation with international prospects, especially in Serbia, where the program has already been linked with players such as Nikola Kusturica, Filip Jovic and Sergej Macura. A coach who can build trust abroad while working inside the college game is a real asset, and UCLA appears to be leaning into that advantage more than ever. [Read more 🡒]