Miami University (Ohio) remains a viable possibility to be Pitt’s lone non-conference football game in the 2020 season, Pittsburgh Sports Now has learned.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Wednesday that each team will play 10 conference games and one non-conference game during a modified 2020 schedule that will start no earlier than Sept. 7, with Sept. 12 being the first Saturday of the 2020 football season.
Pitt had previously been scheduled to face Miami University on Sept. 5 at Heinz Field, but the RedHawks do have an open date on Sept. 12, thanks to Arkansas Pine-Bluff and the rest of the SWAC cancelling its 2020 season.
The details of potentially moving the game being move to Sept. 12 have not yet been finalized.
Pitt also had scheduled non-conference games against Richmond and at Marshall. Richmond has cancelled its Pitt game along with the rest of its 2020 season. The ACC is not permitting teams to travel out of state for non-conference games, putting Pitt’s trip to Marshall on ice.
The Marshall game is the return leg of a home-and-home series, with the Thundering Herd visiting Pitt in 2016. The return game could be re-scheduled for another year or Pitt could buy out the remainder of its contract with Marshall. Pitt has open dates in its schedule in 2023 and beyond.
There had been speculation that there may be a requirement that each ACC team play a Power Five opponent as its non-conference game, but that turned out not to be the case.
The measure was instituted in part because several ACC teams have longstanding in-state rivalry games with out-of-conference opponents such as Clemson and South Carolina, Florida and Florida State, Georgia and Georgia Tech and Kentucky and Louisville.
What’s WVU doing on the 12th?
They play Eastern Kentucky at home.
Schedule Temple. It’s in state and Pitt is finally trying to break into the Philly area for recruits.
Temple plays Idaho at home that week.
How is Idaho graveling across country with so much push against long distance opponents?
Winnable game. Miami has no offense but a strong veteran defense. Pitt should win easily