We knew Penn State-Pitt was going to be a night game broadcast by the Mouse Monopoly. We just didn’t know which station. Turns out they are going big for it:

One of college football’s most historic rivalries will be showcased in primetime when Pitt and Penn State clash at Heinz Field this September 8 in front of a national ABC television audience at 8 p.m.

This will be the first night kickoff for a Pitt-Penn State game in 31 years. On November 14, 1987, the Panthers defeated the Nittany Lions, 10-0, in an ESPN televised game at Pitt Stadium that started at 7:30 p.m.

This game is going to be one of the wilder ones.

Still not convinced that it will have College GameDay as well for it. But we will see.

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Stunned. Genuinely stunned. Followed by really, really happy. September can’t roll around fast enough.

Some potential college football news dropped by the Pirates just now: Bucs move their Sept. 8 game vs. Marlins from 7:05 to 1:05 ET "to allow the University of Pittsburgh to schedule its gridiron clash with Penn State University at night."

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) April 13, 2018

Two years ago, you may recall the Pittsburgh Pirates refused to even entertain the notion of rescheduling their home game for earlier to allow for an evening game.

Does it help that the Pirates are still trying to generate some positive publicity after an offseason of giving away their best players, going cheap and pleading poverty… again? Probably. Do I care? No.

I’m not sure how AD Heather Lyke did it, I just like it.

Apparently North Carolina jumped the gun on the ACC Men’s Basketball schedule. Not the exact dates yet, but the home and aways, and cross-overs.

Pitt has its two annual home-and-homes of Syracuse and Louisville. This year the other two are Clemson and NC State.

The schedule with home-and-aways, dare I say is actually rather good for Pitt. Among the top half of teams in the ACC, Duke, UNC, FSU and ND all have to play at the Pete. The only truly tough ACC road games are Virginia and Miami.

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We’ve known the opponents for a while. Just not the order.

We now have the order. Other then the ND game, times are TBA.

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In a few years when Florida State fans, boosters and probably their board of trustees complain that the TV money from the ACC Network isn’t enough/keeping up with the SEC (because we all, damn well know they will be first in line to complain), we can all remind them that they were the ones leading the charge to leave the money on the table to keep their extra non-con game.

Not that they will care or even accept any blame.

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Back in August the ACC punted on the whole issue of football schedule requirements. With the agreement with ESPN for the ACC Network, content had to be improved/increased.

The ACC had two proposals for annual scheduling. The 9+1 solution: 9 conference games and 1 game against a Power 5 conference program. Or the 8+2 solution: 8 conference games and 2 games against a Power 5 conference program.

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There was just no way I was doing any basketball posting last week. Wasn’t sure I would squeeze anything out this week, but it’s got to happen.

The ACC finally released the men’s basketball schedule, which means Pitt’s basketball schedule is finally complete.

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I look at Penn State’s attempts at “unrivaled” to market their lack of a rival team the same way I view friends that try to pretend how happy they are not to be in a relationship. Constantly spinning the positives when you can see the desperation in them to be with someone. Anyone.

In that vein, I can’t bring myself to call this game a rivalry game. A resumption of on the field hostilities, perhaps, but not a real rivalry game. I wish it wasn’t so. But it isn’t. It should be, but I don’t know that even Pitt is feeling like it can or should happen annually. Despite what AD Scott Barnes is saying.

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I noted this on twitter a few days ago, but I wanted to expand on it a bit further. 2016 could potentially be a special season for Pitt. All of the elements are there: experience, leadership, talent, depth, coaching, and opportunity. The national spotlight will be on Heinz this Saturday with the return of James Conner and it won’t leave with Penn State visiting the following weekend. Back to back road trips against ranked teams, Oklahoma State and UNC, pose big challenges.

Hypothetically, what if Pitt starts 4-0? A win over a rival and two ranked teams on the road plus the emotional angle of Conner would make the national media nuts. That would lead to a top 15 ranking with the easiest stretch of the schedule ahead.

Why is this not crazy? (more…)

Have to start somewhere…

Most of the offseason around the ACC has been about the speculation that the ACC Network was never going to happen. That the losses in the last year at ESPN over cord-cutters and a shrinking subscriber base meant that the Mouse Monopoly was not going to add another channel devoted solely to a conference. ACC schools would have to just accept the extra $3 million/year each on the present deal.

Never should we count out Ninja Swofford. Last month came the surprise announcement by ESPN and the ACC of the long-discussed, but seemingly doomed to never happen ACC Network.

ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference will launch the ACC Network – a comprehensive linear and digital network, it was announced today by ACC Commissioner John Swofford and ESPN President John Skipper at the conference’s annual Football Kickoff media event in Charlotte, N.C. The 20-year partnership will provide ACC fans unprecedented access to live events via a comprehensive, multi-platform network. It also provides for the extension of the conference’s existing rights agreement with ESPN to 2036. ESPN is the ACC’s exclusive worldwide rights holder.

Beginning in August 2016, fans can access more than 600 exclusive live events from across the conference via a digital live-events channel ‘ACC Network Extra’, immediately available to users who have access to ESPN3 via WatchESPN and the ESPN app, with that number growing each year.  More than 1,300 ACC events will be distributed across the platforms in 2019 when the linear network launches.

Sure the cable channel won’t roll out in 2017… or 2018. But, it is coming.

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This is… interesting.

When teams are matched up in the B1G/ACC Challenge, there is almost without exception, an attempt to pair up teams of similar expectations.

For different reasons, a Pitt-Maryland match-up suggests pairing off two teams that could be very good or very mediocre.

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There’s a “but” involved.

Been rumored for a month or so that Pitt and Penn State would face-off in basketball this year. BUT that it wouldn’t be any sort of “home-and-home” exchange. Sure enough, it’s going to be in New Jersey. And it is the undercard.

Villanova will play Notre Dame and Pitt will face Penn State in the first Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Dec. 10, sources told CBS Sports.

An official announcement is expected soon.

The first game of the doubleheader between the Wildcats and Fighting Irish will be available on CBS while the second will air on CBS Sports Network.

Villanova and Notre Dame will tip off at Noon ET with Pitt and Penn State expected to begin their game at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET.

So it is the undercard, but goes second. That’s different, but that is CBS for you. They will make the Nova-ND their Saturday noon game, and see if people can find their cable sports channel for the second game.

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Pitt and the rest of the ACC officially released the 2016 Football Schedule today. While opponents have been known for a while, the dates have not. Let’s take a look! (more…)

Good hate is so hard to find. Playing Penn State is important. In the grand scheme of things, they remain Pitt’s primary object of hate. But there is room in my heart to hate more than one team. And a chance to see that hate expressed against the Hoopies on the field once more is a good thing.

It was just a matter of time, and honestly having both schools changing ADs helped this happen. There was more than a little acrimony on that front as well.

Pitt and WVU will play a 4-game home-and home. Pitt hosts in 2022 and 2024. Travels to the godforsaken land of Morgantown in 2023 and 2025.

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Oh, ACC. I know the transition has been difficult for the last decade plus. To go from a basketball-centric conference to… well, slightly less of a basketball-centric conference.

Trust me. we get it. After the time spent in the Big East, we Pitt fans understand that there can be a slight incomprehension echoing in the conference offices about staying focused on football season.

Still, to release all the ACC college basketball schedules in the afternoon, the day before college football kicks off the season? Not a week ago or two weeks. Just some 30 hours before a game involving one of the teams from your own conference kicks off the season. That is some Big East level idiocy.

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