Pitt will open its conference schedule on the road against North Carolina in two weeks, and the game time (and likely channel) has been announced.
The ACC announced Monday that Pitt and UNC will kick off at Kenan Memorial Stadium at noon on Oct. 5. The game will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2, and additional information about the broadcast will be released at a later date.
It will be the second noon game of the season for the Panthers, after having just one all last season.
Pitt has an opportunity to go into Chapel Hill, N.C. and make another statement — winning its first game on the road against UNC in program history. The Panthers are 0-7 all-time in Chapel Hill. A win, after a week to prepare, would set the Pathers up for a strong second half of the schedule.
It appears to be a good matchup for the Panthers, too. North Carolina is coming off a 70-50 loss to JMU, which led to reports surfacing that head coach Mack Brown could be considering stepping down. Regardless, it’s a big opportunity for offensive coordinator Kade Bell and the offense.
Pitt is coming off its most complete performance of the season in a 73-17 win against Youngstown State Saturday at Acrisure Stadium — and it meant a lot to Pat Narduzzi.
“That’s the way we scripted that win today,” Narduzzi said Saturday night. “Talked to our guys just about the attitude we take and making a statement in regards to who we played. We wanted to put the foot to the pedal and show who we are. You look back at 2012 and Paul Chryst’s first year and you think about how far we’ve come as a program. They got beat by that team coming in here in ’12. Then in ’15, my first game, we beat them barely. ’17, we go overtime with them.
“Again, wins are wins, but this third one is the way it was supposed to be. They may have preached all week about, hey, last time we took them to overtime. That was 2017. That was before a Coastal Division championship. I was proud of the way those guys went out there and played.”
North Carolina is 3-1 this season, with wins against Minnesota, Charlotte and NC Central, but the Tar Heels are also on their third quarterback — Jacolby Criswell. He wasn’t the biggest issue against JMU, but it’s clear the Heels have a lot to work on — with Duke on the schedule this weekend.
I’m feeling better about this one than I did at the start of the season. Will be interesting to see how UNC plays against Duke. Regardless, stop Hampton and we should be able to outscore them.