Pat Narduzzi shared his thoughts on the Orange earlier this week as the two get ready to play on Thursday night.
The Syracuse football (1-1) team will renew its longstanding rivalry with the Pittsburgh Panthers (2-0) in a nationally televised Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) game on Thursday night.
The Orange are coming off a disappointing 21-18 loss against Cal in the ACC opener while the Panthers are coming off an uninspiring 12-7 win over Central Florida.
Syracuse head coach Fran Brown spoke to the public via his coach's show on Tuesday, providing an update on the injury status of Calvin Russell III. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi spoke to the media on Monday about the upcoming matchup with the Orange.
What did Pat Narduzzi say about Syracuse football?
Via Ashley Wenskoski on social media:
"Syracuse - great football team. Got a ton of respect for Fran Brown and the program he's built. .I think he's built a culture up there of toughness and physicality. He's a tough dude..you watch them play, they play hard."
We don't doubt that Narduzzi will always talk positively about that week's opponent, but still, after a tough Syracuse loss, it's nice to know the opinion of them from the outside is high.
Narduzzi took over the job as the leader of the Pitt program in 2015. In a decade-plus at the helm, the 60 year old Narduzzi has led them to 82 wins, eight bowl game appearances and an ACC title in 2021.
Narduzzi holds a 9-2 career record versus Syracuse.
Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi looks on before the game against the Miami (OH) RedHawks at Acrisure Stadium. Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesWhat did Fran Brown say about Pittsburgh this week?
The Syracuse head coach said this on Monday in reference to the Panthers:
"Coach Narduzzi is a good football coach, I like how he has his defense sound, they like to hit, offensive side of the ball, they create big plays. This conference is quarterback happy. Pitt's quarterback {Mason Heintschel) is one of the better quarterbacks in the country."
Entering his third season as the Orange's head coach, Brown is still searching for his first win over the Panthers. In Brown's two previous games against Pittsburgh, the Orange have been outscored 71-26.
History of the rivalry
Both schools matched up frequently as members of the BIG East Conference before joining the ACC in 2014.
Thursday night's game marks the 82nd time that the schools have faced off. The Panthers hold the all-time series edge with a 45-33-3 record.
Syracuse has not defeated the Panthers in Pittsburgh since a 42-10 win in 2001.
Where can you follow Thursday's action?
ESPN will have the television coverage at 7:30 p.m. ET. On the audio side, fans can listen across multiple affiliates in New York State. In the Central New York area, the game will be broadcast on the radio side on TK99/105 (99.5/100.5 FM) and WAER (88.3) and through Cuse.com.
Following the game on Thursday, SyracuseRoundtable will be offering insight and takeaways from the contest.
