Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi: 'We play some darn good football in the ACC, and I think people forget about that'

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Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi stood by comments he made about Michigan State and the Big Ten during his appearance at the Atlantic Coast Conference Kickoff on Thursday, repeating that he felt confident about Pitt's chances in that conference.

Kenny Pickett, Pitt's first-round pick, didn't play that game because he was preparing for the draft. Third string quarterback Davis Beville played the rest of the game after backup quarterback Nick Patti was hurt. The Spartans came back from a 21-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 31-21.

During an interview with Pittsburgh's Black and Gold Banter earlier in the week, Narduzzi said that the difference was 21 points. Michigan State got kicked in. If Nick Patti plays the whole game, the difference is at least 14 points.

You discuss Big Ten and SEC. Let's go to the Big Ten and win it every year if that's a good team. I don't want to hear about the SEC's dominance.

Narduzzi said he was just trying to convey how strongly he felt about the strength of the conference. Michigan State had a defensive coach named Narduzzi. A year ago, Pittsburgh won the conference title.

During the summer, you hear a lot about the Power 2s. We will begin there. "You know, we play some darn good football in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and I think people forget about it." I have been a coach in the Big Ten for eight years. It's not being arrogant. Knowing what we played against in the Peach Bowl is all it is. That is just belief. There is no disrespect to the Big Ten. It's just about the two teams. I was trying to get across that the football is really, really good in the Atlantic Coast Conference.