The defense of Pitt’s ACC Coastal Division title will begin in earnest in August.
For the first time since their inaugural ACC football game, the Panthers open their season with conference play. Like their 2013 lid-lifter against Florida State, they’ll play host to a league foe, with Virginia coming to town Aug. 31 for Week 1.
Nearly half the conference is doing the same, in conjunction with the launch of the new ACC Network linear channel. Pitt originally scheduled Football Championship Subdivision’s Delaware for the season opener but moved that game to accommodate the league’s big kickoff weekend.
The ACC released its full conference schedule Wednesday, and other highlights for Pitt include its Oct. 26 home game against Miami, Nov. 23 trip to Virginia Tech and regular season-ending matchup Nov. 30 with Boston College, which has never visited Heinz Field in the ACC and hasn’t faced Pitt since 2014.
With Virginia up first, the Panthers will need to hit the ground running under new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. The Cavaliers finished 8-5 thanks to a 28-0 rout of South Carolina in the Belk Bowl, and bring back quarterback Bryce Perkins along with eight returning starters on defense, including all-conference cornerback Bryce Hall.
But while Virginia presents a challenging opponent, beginning 2019 with a high-profile game at Heinz Field could give Pitt plenty of positive exposure, too. You can begin the discussion now of whether the Panthers should wear their alternate home uniforms, or just wait to see if the athletic department makes a full-scale change to those colors in the meantime, which seems to be a matter of “when” more than “will.”
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi might not love jumping right into such a pivotal test so early, but for fans, it’s an exciting way to start the season. Even more so than the usual FCS foe to begin a new year.
“We always talk with the schools before scheduling games,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in late November. “The thing that has been really good from our schools is they’re all in on the network, and you have to have it that way if you want to have your own 24/7 network with a partner like ESPN. So everybody understands the importance of scheduling, particularly at this point in time.”
After facing Ohio, Penn State (away) and Central Florida, the Panthers hop back into ACC action Oct. 5 at Duke, meaning they'll play three home games in September and won't leave Pennsylvania until Week 6. Their conference road opener is followed by the first of two off weeks, a new scheduling quirk this year in college football, then their first of two night games.
Pitt plays its annual Atlantic Division crossover Syracuse on the road Oct. 18, a Friday night, then returns to Heinz Field eight days later for its first home game in almost a month. The second definite prime-time tilt is Nov. 14 against North Carolina at home, Pitt's third Thursday night clash with the Tar Heels in five years, all in Pittsburgh and the first two losses.
The four non-conference dates had been announced previously, the ACC opponents are predetermined and times for each game are still unknown.
FULL SCHEDULE:
(All times TBA)
Aug 31: vs. Virginia
Sept. 7: vs. Ohio
Sept. 14: at Penn State
Sept. 21: vs. UCF
Sept. 28: vs. Delaware
Oct. 5: at Duke
Oct. 18: at Syracuse
Oct. 26: vs. Miami
Nov. 2: at Georgia Tech
Nov. 14: vs. North Carolina
Nov. 23: at Virginia Tech
Nov. 30: Boston College
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: January 16, 2019, 7:02 p.m.
