The Nebraska football team has never faced off against Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi. The last time the Huskers took on the Panthers, Bo Pelini was NU’s head coach and Dave Wannstedt was with the ACC school. Despite all of that, Narduzzi might have been better served to check out his own school’s history against the Big Ten, or even just remembered his own struggles, before claiming the ACC is a better conference than the B1G.
Narduzzi made headlines when he appeared at his team’s Media Days and proceeded to stick his foot all the way into his mouth. “This conference is as good as any conference in the country,” Narduzzi said via 680 The Fan in Atlanta. “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.”
The Pitt head coach could be forgiven for saying the ACC is a conference that can compete against anyone. That’s just coach speak and pride in his team and his conference. But claiming that arguably the weakest Power 4 conference in the country is better than the Big Ten should especially have Nebraska fans laughing awfully hard.
The Huskers have hardly been a powerhouse in the B1G, but with a schedule in 2026 that’s considered among the toughest in the country, Nebraska knows it would be hard to come close to matching Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon in the ACC.
NEW: Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi says the ACC is BETTER than the Big Ten:
— College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) July 17, 2026
“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.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/2Jcbr1ubsx
Pat Narduzzi’s ACC-over-Big Ten claim ignores years of losing results
“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.”
By “our,” he does not mean the Pitt Panthers. Narduzzi’s last and only win at the helm of his team came in 2016 against Penn State. He’s lost six straight since. Iowa got him in 2015, as did Northwestern in 2016. Three of the other losses came at the hands of the Nittany Lions.
Perhaps the funniest part about Narduzzi’s claims is that they aren’t remotely accurate, even if he expands “our” to the conference. Last season, the ACC went 2-4 against the Big Ten and 1-2 in bowl season. The year prior, they were 4-5 and 1-3. In the 2020s, the ACC is 15-23 against the B1G and an embarrassing 3-12 in bowl games.
The last time the ACC had a winning record against the Big Ten was 2016. That was one of three seasons since 2000 where the Atlantic Coast Conference had a winning record.
For its part, Nebraska is 2-1 in its last three games against the ACC, including the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College. This is hardly the only time that Pat Narduzzi has jammed his foot in his mouth. The real oddity would be if he ever stopped doing it on a regular basis.
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