Pat Narduzzi’s second rodeo isn’t going to get any easier. more than 10 wins that season, including a trip to Clemson The ACC announced Pitt’s football schedule for the University to take on the NCAA playoff runner-up Tigers. 2016 season, and while all the opponents were public The schedule will provide difficult non-conference battles knowledge, the actual order is now finalized. that the Panthers didn’t see in an easier 2015 run of games, as THE BREAKDOWN Nine of Pitt’s 12 games come against teams with win- well as a handful of new ACC coaches who look to bolster the ning records in 2015, while four come against teams with overall depth and difficulty of an already strong conference. sept. 3 vs. villanova all-time record: 2-0 Oct. 15 @ Virginia all-time record: 5-3 2015 record: 6-5 key returner: tanoh kpassagnon 2015 record: 4-8 key returner: taquan mizzell Pitt’s opening game of the year might be against a non-FBS school, but Virginia has been hapless in the ACC for the past few seasons, but the Wildcats are no slouch. Andy Talley has been the head coach at Villanova it has the potential to turn the corner under former BYU head coach since 1985, compiling a 221-134-1 record there, and won the FCS champi- Bronco Mendenhall. The Cavaliers played Pitt close at Heinz Field last onship in 2009. year, and Mendenhall has the ability to rejuvenate Virginia’s offense into Sept. 10vs. penn state all-time record: 42-50-4 a capable unit this season. 2015 record: 7-6 key returner: saquon barkley oct. 27vs. Virginia tech all-time record: 7-8 For perhaps the most anticipated game on the schedule, the Pan- 2015 record: 7-6 key returner: isaiah ford thers renew their historic rivalry with the Nittany Lions, which has The Hokies are without head coach Frank Beamer, replacing the legend- been dormant since 2000. Penn State will feature some new faces, los- ary coach with former University of Memphis playcaller Justin Fuente. The ing starting quarterback Christian Hackenberg and star lineman Carl Hokies are talented — particularly on offense, with wideout Isaiah Ford and Nassib to the draft and graduation, respectively. Still, the Panthers will tight end Bucky Hodges supplanting a talented passing attack — and will at- remain supremely motivated to beat their in-state rivals after James tempt to move the ball better than they did in their loss to Pitt in Blacksburg, Franklin and Pat Narduzzi waged a fierce battle against one another Virginia, last season. on the recruiting trail. sept. 17 @ oklahoma state all-time record: 0-0 nov. 5 @ miami all-time record: 10-24-1 2015 record: 10-3 key returner: mason rudolph 2015 record: 8-5 key returner: brad kaaya This contest is the first of a home-and-home series between Pitt and For the first time as ACC members, Pitt will not face the Hurricanes the Cowboys, and is the first-ever meeting between the two teams. This during Thanksgiving weekend. Instead, the team will travel to Miami is one of the two toughest tests of 2016 for the Panthers, as pundits ex- earlier in the month, hoping to avenge a deflating 2015 loss to its con- pect the Cowboys to be a Top 25 team again after a terrific season last year under longtime head coach Mike Gundy. ference rivals last year and taking on former University of Georgia head coach Mark Richt in his first year with the program. sept. 24 @ north carolina all-time record: 3-7-0 2015 record: 11-3 key returner: ryan switzer nov. 12 @ clemson all-time record: 1-0 The Panthers look to end a three-game skid against the Tar Heels, as Pitt 2015 record: 14-1 key returner: deshaun watson has not beat them since the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl. UNC will no longer Without a doubt the toughest game on Pitt’s 2016 slate, the Panthers must feature playmaking quarterback Marquise Williams, but wideout Ryan Swit- return to South Carolina to take on the defending ACC champions, still zer, who has terrorized Pitt in the past, will fill in. Switzer decided to return for armed with superstar quarterback Deshaun Watson. Widely projected to be his senior year rather than entering the NFL Draft, much to the chagrin of the the top-ranked team in the country, Clemson’s offense has the potential to be entire Pitt football community. even more dynamic than last year’s prolific unit. oct. 1Vs. Marshall all-time record: 0-0 2015 record: 10-3 key returner: gary thompson nov. 19 vs. duke all-time record: 11-9 Another first-time meeting for Pitt, the Marshall Thundering Herd will 2015 record: 8-5 key returner: shaun wilson come to Heinz Field as one of the strongest teams out of the Mid-American While the previous two Pitt-Duke matchups had been exciting shootouts, Conference. Under head coach Doc Holliday — who various outlets con- the Panthers won in a rout last season against the Blue Devils’ backup quar- sidered a potential candidate for Pitt’s opening in 2014 — Marshall has gone terback Parker Boehme. Duke returns quarterback Thomas Sirk this year, but 50-28, and has consistently been one of the top-performing non-Power Five loses ACC Defensive Player of the Year Jeremy Cash, so another back-and- teams in the country. forth contest could be in the works for 2016. oct. 8 vs. georgia tech all-time record: 6-4 nov. 26 vs. syracuse all-time record: 37-31-3 2015 record: 3-9 key returner: justin thomas 2015 record: 4-8 key returner: zaire franklin Paul Johnson’s team — a program that has given Pitt fits over the past two seasons — saw one of its worst seasons in recent memory, with its struggles Another ACC team that enters 2016 with a new head coach, Syracuse is still partially due to a litany of injuries to its backfield. Now that the Yellow Jackets trying to find its footing in its new conference after three subpar seasons under will be fully healed, the Panthers will once again have to try to stop a triple- Scott Shafer. Dino Babers will attempt to find some stability at quarterback, option, a proposition that has proven fruitless for the program over the years. and do something the Orange hasn’t done since 2012 — beat the Panthers..