ALTOONA, Pa. -- Let's start with the good news: If Pitt has a great season, like it did in 2021, then the division discussion below probably wouldn't matter all that much. Because a great season -- such as 7-1 in ACC play -- would pretty much ensure the Panthers a berth in the conference championship game most years.
However ...
When the ACC does do away with divisions, which seems inevitable after NCAA rules changes passed this week regarding conference title games, it seems pretty clear that Pitt's path to future ACC championship games will get tougher.
That's in contrast to Penn State, which will have an easier path to the Big Ten championship if that league does away with divisions. Which, again, is expected.
It all comes down to the strength of the division. The Nittany Lions play in a brutally tough division that includes Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State, so getting out of that arrangement would be beneficial to Penn State. Check out this week's We Are podcast for an in-depth discussion on that topic.
Pitt plays in the weaker ACC Division, the Coastal, which also includes Miami, Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Duke and Georgia Tech. Any division that doesn't include Clemson automatically falls under the category of easier, and while Florida State has been a mess for several years now, that program still could re-emerge as a national power at any point.
Let's face it, the ACC Coastal typically is not a major gauntlet to overcome, and even a relatively mediocre team can navigate through that and reach the ACC title game.
Pitt did just that in 2018, winning the Coastal with a 6-2 mark despite having an overall record of 7-5 heading into the league title game. The Panthers lost their regular-season finale to Miami, 24-3, got pounded by Clemson in the ACC championship, 42-10, and lost the Sun Bowl to Stanford, 14-13, to finish 7-7.
Now, to be 100 percent clear, for anyone who says that caliber of Pitt team in 2018 would never be in an ACC title game if there were no divisions, we do need to point this out: Pitt's 6-2 conference mark tied with Atlantic member Syracuse for second best in the league that year, and since the Panthers beat the Orange, Pitt would have been the second-place finisher overall in the league even if there had not been divisions.
Still, without having the luxury of winning a division title to clinch an ACC championship game berth, even going 6-2 in league play may not be good enough in a lot of years because of various tiebreakers or if two other teams have an outstanding season.
Pitt entered the ACC in 2013, and here's what kind of record it would have taken in league play to reach the conference championship game:
2021: 7-1 (Pitt won Coastal with this record)
2020: 8-1 (there were no divisions because of COVID)
2019: 6-2
2018: 6-2 (Pitt won Coastal with this record)
2017: 7-1
2016: 7-1
2015: 8-0 (Clemson and UNC both went 8-0)
2014: 6-2
2013: 6-2
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi favors keeping divisions in the ACC, and he mentioned this as part of his reasoning during an appearance last week on the ACC Network, via Inside the Panthers:
"When it comes to our division championship in 2018, it fueled us to a championship this year. I think there is some merit to being a champion. ... If it's going to be just one champion and everyone else is losers, to me, that's not a good feeling."
If the ACC does away with divisions, it appears the league will be adopting a 3-5-5 scheduling format for its eight-game conference slate. In that scenario, each team would have three protected rivalry opponents each year, then play five teams one season and the other five the next season.
Here's what ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said during league meetings earlier this month about that format, via ESPN:
"The two, I think, drivers to this: One, is the opportunity for our student-athletes to play every school in the ACC over a four-year period of time. That's just not the case right now. The other piece of it is, I've always felt that was a local decision about how you handle your conference. You're seeing that across multiple conferences that they'd like to dictate what their championship structure looks like, and which will lead into eventually an expanded football playoff."
In the 3-5-5 format, two of Pitt's protected crossover games almost certainly would be Syracuse and Virginia Tech. There's just no reason for the Panthers not to continue to play those old Big East rivals every year.
As for the third protected game, that could be interesting. It wouldn't be Clemson or Florida State, nor would Pitt really want that to be the case. Miami would be appealing, but that's a big national brand, and lots of ACC schools would want to keep playing the Hurricanes as much as possible.
Boston College would be a good option as a northeast program -- although maybe not all that sexy to some Pitt fans -- and either Virginia, North Carolina or N.C. State also could be possibilities.
Which teams would Pitt fans like to keep on the schedule each year? Post your answers in the comments section.
