Pitt's football schedule features Clemson, North Carolina at Heinz Field

Pitt will play six-time College Football Playoff semifinalist and two-time champion Clemson in consecutive seasons, the second coming at Heinz Field on Oct. 23, according to the ACC schedule released Thursday morning.

It will be a rematch of Pitt’s 52-17 loss at Death Valley last season.

This season’s ACC schedule will feature a return to the traditional divisional format after a covid-altered 2020 season eliminated the Atlantic and Coastal. Notre Dame, which played as an ACC team in 2020, will not return in 2021, but will play five conference teams.

The ACC also announced the start of the season on Labor Day weekend (Sept. 2-6) will be contingent on national, state and local health guidelines.

For Pitt, the Clemson game, one of seven at Heinz Field, opens a challenging six-game stretch.

After playing Clemson, the Panthers welcome Miami to Heinz on Oct. 30, followed by a trip to Duke on Nov. 6. North Carolina visits five days later Nov. 11. It will be the fourth consecutive time Pitt and North Carolina will meet in Pittsburgh in a nationally televised Thursday night contest.

It’s an attractive home schedule for Pitt. Six-time defending ACC champion Clemson (No. 3), North Carolina (No. 18) and Miami (No. 22) all finished in the final Associated Press Top 25 rankings.

The last two games of the season are at home against Virginia on Nov. 20 and a visit to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse on Nov. 27.

Pitt opens its ACC schedule Oct. 2 at Georgia Tech, the third consecutive season Pitt will play the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. Next up will be an early off week, with a trip to Virginia Tech scheduled for Oct. 16.

Pitt’s four-game nonconference schedule features a reunion between Pat Narduzzi and Josh Heupel, the new coach at Tennessee. Heupel, recently hired after three seasons at Central Florida, welcomes the Panthers to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 11.

Pitt has played at Neyland twice previously, defeating Johnny Majors’ Vols in 1980, 30-6, on the way to an 11-1 season and 13-3 in 1983.

Heupel met Pitt in consecutive seasons in 2018-19, with each team winning one. The Panthers pulled out a 35-34 victory against UCF in ‘19 with a touchdown catch by quarterback Kenny Pickett with 56 seconds left on a trick play Narduzzi called the “Pitt Special.”

Pitt will open the season Sept. 4 at Heinz Field against UMass. Western Michigan on Sept. 18 and FCS member New Hampshire on Sept. 25 are the other two nonconference home games.

Pitt never has played UMass or Western Michigan and won its only game against New Hampshire in 2010, 38-16.

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