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Jul 23, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Pittsburgh Head Coach Pat Narduzzi answers questions from the media during ACC Media days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Pitt HC Addresses Potential Conference Slate Expansion

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI
By Mitchell Corcoran | Last updated Aug 26, 2025 9:00 AM ET

PITTSBURGH — The SEC will play a nine-game conference schedule starting in the 2026 season, the conference announced on Aug. 21. The SEC is the third conference to make the change, leaving the ACC as the only Power Four conference that plays an eight-game conference schedule.

As part of the change, SEC teams are required to schedule either Notre Dame or at least one "high quality" opponent from the ACC, Big Ten or Big 12 conferences. The SEC will also "evaluate its policies to ensure the continued scheduling of high-quality non-conference opponents."

With more importance being placed on making the College Football Playoff, the playoff's committee has adjusted its existing strength of schedule metric to "apply greater weight to games against strong opponents," and it has added an additional record strength metric that "rewards teams defeating high-quality opponents while minizing the penalty for losing to such a team," the committee announced on Aug. 20.

Although it's almost a foregone conclusion that the ACC will follow suit in the near future to give its teams a better chance to make the College Football Playoff, Pat Narduzzi is focused on the negative impacts a nine-game conference schedule could have on college football as a whole.

"I think it would hurt if that happens," Narduzzi said on Aug. 25. "I think it's going to happen across the board throughout. We're going to try to play the best schedule we can. I anticipate the ACC probably following along. We've talked in coaches meetings about going to nine."

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Narduzzi, who played and coached at the FCS level at Youngstown State and Rhode Island, believes that switching to a nine-game conference schedule will hurt the smaller FCS schools for financial reasons. In 2025, most FCS programs are getting paid between $250,000 and $1 million to play an FBS opponent, and with nine conference games, that's fewer opportunities for those FCS programs.

Pitt plays Duquesne, an FCS opponent, this Saturday for its Week 1 game. Narduzzi was asked if this game would still happened under a nine-game conference schedule.

"It's hard to say," Narduzzi said. "If we did drop it, I think it hurts FCS ball. I'm an I-AA FCS guy. I know all the teams that played in the Northeast Conference. I know the Patriot League. I know the old Yankee (Conference). The Atlantic 10. All those conferences are run by some of these games."

Another concern is the role Notre Dame plays in the ACC. Although the Fighting Irish are notorious for never joining a conference, the ACC non-league schedule includes a minimum of five games a year versus Notre Dame. This year, Pitt is one of those five games and will host No. 6 Notre Dame on Nov. 15.

"The problem is for five or six teams in the conference, Notre Dame will be 10th (game)," Narduzzi said. "You're playing 10 conference games. That's a difference that nobody else in the country has to deal with, is Notre Dame, because they aren't in a conference, but they half are as far as playing games in this league."

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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