Despite suffering arguably the worst loss of his head coaching career Saturday evening, Pat Narduzzi opened his media availability Monday afternoon pointing out a few positives from his team’s weekend debacle against Georgia Tech.
As is the case with nearly every loss a 22-point favorite suffers in the game of football, little went right schematically for Pitt in its 26-21 succumbing to the Yellow Jackets, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Yet after breaking down each painful mistake during his staff’s film review Sunday evening, the Panthers head coach said the thing that stood out most was his team’s effort.
“Our kids are playing their tails off, I can tell you that,” Narduzzi said. “I talk about our attitude. I think our attitude is really good. I evaluate them on that all the time. Their effort was outstanding, almost too good at times. Sometimes we're trying to do too much at times.”
Narduzzi pin-points a bulk of Saturday’s miscues on preparation, citing the “little details” as to why the contest got out of hand.
“Our knowledge, details have got to get better,” Narduzzi said. “You see the little, little details that are hard to see on videotape for the normal eye. We have to clean those up. In the game of football, if one guy doesn't do it the right way, you have 10 guys that are busting their tails, doing everything right. One guy, defense, offense, special teams for that matter, good things don't happen.”
With a roster that features a bulk of experience on both offense and defense, some could argue that “knowledge” and the “small details” shouldn’t be an issue for Pitt. However, even with a veteran group, Narduzzi said the mental errors the Panthers have displayed throughout the 2022 campaign aren’t a shock to him and his staff.
“Attitude takes no talent. Effort takes no talent. Toughness takes no talent. Knowledge takes some talent,” Narduzzi said. “You’ve still got new guys out there, whether it's at the linebacker position, new defensive ends out there, a new quarterback, new wideouts. You’ve got a new offensive coordinator, as well.
“There's growing pains that go with that, how you want it done, what you're doing, how you're doing it, transitioning from different styles of games based on who you're playing. ... There's not been a whole lot of consistency as far as who is out there, when they're out, what we're trying to do, need to do to win a football game.”
No qualm with confidence
Entering the 2022 season, the talk within Pitt’s program was that the primary goal was to reach the College Football Playoff and compete for a national championship. Sitting at 3-2 overall, 0-1 in the ACC and outside the top 25 in all polls, it looks as though that won’t be happening this fall for Narduzzi’s group.
When asked if he felt if his team was too sure of itself, Narduzzi explained that confidence, in his eyes, isn’t the issue.
“I don't think there's anything wrong with confidence,” he said. “I think you better be confident in what you're doing in your jobs, our jobs. You better be confident in what you're doing. I like confidence. If you don't have confidence, you have bigger issues than anything. There's got to be reality, too. I think we got a good balance of that.”
Support for Slovis
Starting quarterback Kedon Slovis was one of the players who received a notable amount of criticism for his efforts in the loss against Georgia Tech. Although the senior finished the game with over 300 yards through the air and three touchdown passes, his inability to get the offense moving in the first half prevented Pitt from establishing a lead against an inferior opponent.
While some fans are calling for a change under center, Narduzzi affirmed his belief in what Slovis can do.
“He's the best quarterback we've got at this point, without a question,” Narduzzi said. “I mean, just watch the way he operates in the second half. You talk about having a short memory. To rebound in the second half ... again, it was a little sloppy early. The second half the weather got a little bit better. We had a little steady drizzle at least in the first quarter. We didn't do well with that.”
Cleaning up the laundry
For the third straight game, Pitt was called for more penalties than its opponent. Against Georgia Tech, the Panthers committed 12 penalties for 75 yards compared to the Yellow Jackets’ four for 43 yards.
However, even with the heavy dose of yellow flags being thrown, Narduzzi says penalties haven’t been a significant issue for his team this season.
“We've been pretty solid on penalties. The most disappointing was what I started off with, talking about the special teams penalty. Our guys are busting their butts down the field, trying to cut people off, not getting it done in the proper technique. They're busting their butt to get things done, but you sometimes try too hard.”
Noah Hiles: nhiles@post-gazette.com and Twitter @_NoahHiles
First Published: October 3, 2022, 7:40 p.m.