Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi says, ‘You gotta beat Clemson’ to get to the ACC Championship

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi had this to say about Clemson.

The 2023 ACC Football Kickoff is off to a hot start after day one. Wednesday’s day two brings different ACC teams to the media to discuss their team, the Conference, and the season ahead of them. 

The 2023 season in the ACC will look much different than any other before, with the Conference moving away from divisions and doing its first season with the 3-5-5 format. Rather than the divisional winners making the ACC Championship, it will now be the top two teams based on winning percentage to make the game. 

A major shift, Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi and his program know a bit about what it takes to make the ACC Championship, and even with the lack of divisions, you still need to get through Clemson.

“I think back to in ’21 when you go to the championship game and beat Wake Forest, you beat the reigning champion in Clemson at home and you took care of business,” Narduzzi said. “Whether you’re in the Atlantic or whether you’re in the Coastal division, pretty much you gotta beat Clemson to get there, correct? To me, we did that and won the championship. So to me, that makes it even sweeter.”

Narduzzi clearly respects the Tigers, who  won the conference title in seven of the last eight seasons. The lone winner of the last eight that wasn’t Clemson was Narduzzi and the Panthers.

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