Pitt's 2019 football schedule is out

SEE ALSO: Pitt's future football schedules

An ACC opener, two weeknight games and a lot of time at home early on highlight Pitt’s 2019 schedule, which was released on Wednesday.

Pitt will open the 2019 season with a home conference game against Virginia. That’s the first time the Panthers have started a schedule with a non-FCS opponent since 2013, when Pitt was welcomed to the ACC with a Labor Day game against Florida State at Heinz Field.

Moving the Virginia game to opening weekend created something of a logjam of home games to open the season. Pitt will play five games before the end of September, and four of them will be at Heinz Field.

After opening the season against the Cavaliers, Pitt will host Ohio on Sept. 7, Central Florida on Sept. 21 and Delaware on Sept. 28 (that game was originally scheduled for the opening weekend but was moved to accommodate the game against Virginia).

The only road game in the first month will be on Sept. 14, when Pitt goes to Penn State for the last scheduled game between the two longtime rivals.

With four home games in the first five weeks, Pitt won’t seem like much of a regular presence on the North Shore in October and November. The Panthers will be at home just three times in those two months: Oct. 26 against Miami, Nov. 14 (Thursday) against North Carolina and the season finale against Boston College on Nov. 30.

The Eagles are Pitt’s Atlantic Division crossover opponent this season, and they represent the start of the Panthers’ second run through that division. Pitt finished its first Atlantic rotation with 2018’s trip to Wake Forest.

Pitt’s 2019 schedule will also have the Panthers going to Syracuse for a Friday night in the Carrier Dome on Oct. 18. And Pitt will travel to Georgia Tech (Nov. 2) and Virginia Tech (No. 23) for Saturday contests.

CLICK HERE FOR PITT'S FULL 2019 SCHEDULE AND OTHER FUTURE SCHEDULES