Pitt's home game against Navy has been moved to 8 p.m. Oct. 10, a Wednesday night, and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

The two schools originally were scheduled to play Oct. 13, but ESPN was interested in televising the game, and a move to Wednesday was possible because both teams have a bye the Saturday before.

It will be the only college football game broadcast that night and will kick off four consecutive days of college football programming.

"We are pleased and excited that ESPN has provided us with the opportunity to renew the Pitt-Navy series in front of a national television audience," said Pitt athletic director Jeff Long in a news release.

"Playing the national college football showcase game on Wednesday night allows us to take advantage of an opportunity for national exposure without compromising our desire to not play on Friday nights out of respect for the traditions of Western Pennsylvania high school football."

The move guarantees the Panthers at least two nationally televised games.

The Pitt-West Virginia game Dec. 1 at Mountaineer Field has been scheduled for broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.

The Navy game is Pitt's only weeknight game, and, because of the way the schedule is set up, it is unlikely that any other games will be changed.

Pitt originally was scheduled to have 14 days to prepare for Navy after its game Sept. 29 at Virginia, then a week to prepare for its home game Oct. 20 against Cincinnati.

As it stands, the Panthers will have 10 days to prepare for both games, which is why Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt welcomed the change.

"This is a real win-win for us," Wannstedt said in a news release.

"We're getting a nationally televised game, which is always great for our program and recruiting. The date change also gives us a week-and-a-half to prepare for two consecutive opponents in October [Navy and Cincinnati], which we hope to use to our advantage."