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Pat Narduzzi emphatically shoots down ‘must-win’ label for Notre Dame clash
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- Pat Narduzzi emphatically shoots down ‘must-win’ label for Notre Dame clash
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The post Pat Narduzzi emphatically shoots down 'must-win' label for Notre Dame clash appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Pittsburgh football grabbed the nation's attention amid its five-game winning streak. The Panthers are now the top-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team this week . Now Pat Narduzzi has Notre Dame to prepare for — with a chance to shoot up the rankings.
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Pitt can spark College Football Playoff conversations this week by stunning the Fighting Irish. On the surface, Saturday feels like a "must-win" scenario in terms of national respect for Pitt.
But Narduzzi shot down that label, including informing the media on Monday that this version of Pitt-Notre Dame is non-conference unlike basketball.
"Absolutely not," Narduzzi began after getting asked if this is a "must-win" contest. "It is not an ACC game."
Narduzzi then joked: "I'd gladly get beat 103 or 110-10 in that game. They could put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that."
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Pittsburgh, Pat Narduzzi has bad history with Notre Dame
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There's another reason why Pitt is getting additional scrutiny across the CFB realm.
ESPN College GameDay is heading to the Steel City — putting the spotlight on the big Top 25 battle.
Again, an ND victory wouldn't damper Pitt's pursuit of the ACC title. The Panthers own a 5-1 conference record alongside Georgia Tech, SMU and Virginia among conference representatives.
Yet ND has handed Narduzzi and company a painful history — hence the "103" explanation.
The Irish own a 50-21-1 mark against Pitt. The Panthers head coach and his team took a 58-7 beatdown in the last meeting in 2023 at South Bend. Pitt endured a similar brutal defeat in 2020 — falling 45-3 at home when ND played an ACC schedule due to COVID-19.
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While a loss won't effect Pitt's conference record, a victory certainly shoots the Panthers up the CFP rankings. Pitt sits at No. 24 and can spruce its postseason resume up by stunning the nation's No. 9 ranked team.
Georgia Tech remains the ACC representative predicted to earn a playoff spot. But Saturday presents Pitt a chance to crash the party.
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