Pitt’s (No. 22) recreation in opposition to No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday was nearly definitely this system’s highest-profile recreation because the 2021 Peach Bowl.
It featured two ranked groups and was in opposition to considered one of faculty soccer’s elite packages. ESPN’s “Faculty GameDay” was on the town, making it the literal epicenter of the school soccer schedule for the week. Pitt had a uncommon sellout crowd. There was a palpable buzz across the recreation. Folks had been excited. Town was excited.
Regardless of all of that, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi opened the week by saying at his weekly information convention that it was not solely not a must-win recreation, however he didn’t care if Notre Dame gained by 100 factors as a result of it was not an ACC recreation and had no impression on Pitt’s probabilities of successful the ACC.
“Completely not,” Narduzzi mentioned when requested in regards to the must-win nature of the sport. “It isn’t an ACC recreation. I am glad you introduced that up. It isn’t an ACC recreation. I might gladly get beat 103 or 110-10 in that recreation, they’ll put 100 up on us so long as we win the following two after that. However once more, our focus is on Notre Dame and getting as many wins as we will.”
Effectively, they didn’t lose by 100, however their 37-15 loss was nearly as dangerous.
Pat Narduzzi’s pregame feedback make loss look even worse
There are some things that may be true on the similar time right here.
Pitt didn’t lose due to Narduzzi’s feedback. It was in all probability going to lose anyway given the expertise hole and the way undermanned Pitt was in opposition to a high workforce. Particularly alongside the road of scrimmage.
However what these feedback did was simply add one other layer of embarrassment to the lopsided defeat. It makes it appear like he was waiting for the remaining two ACC video games, not taking a top-10 recreation severely and telling an excited fan base that there was nothing value popping out for.
No critical coach at a critical program would ever say one thing like that going right into a recreation like that. No critical coach at a critical program would ever deal with a recreation of this magnitude like that.
It simply set a foul tone and despatched a foul message to everyone. It additionally in all probability wasn’t a very meaningless recreation.
Even when Pitt wins its remaining two ACC video games, it is not assured a spot within the ACC Championship Recreation and can nonetheless want some assist to get in. May it have been enjoying for a possible at-large bid within the playoffs? Not going, but when it had run the desk, it could have completed with a 10-win common season with three straight wins over ranked opponents (Notre Dame, in addition to Georgia Tech and Miami). Would which were sufficient? Possibly not, however it might have a minimum of been a stable resume builder for a greater bowl recreation, a stable recruiting device and program-building win.
Folks discover if you beat Notre Dame. It’s a huge deal.
However what is probably the worst look of all for Narduzzi is that if he actually felt it was not a must-win recreation, and if he actually believed it didn’t matter compared to the considerably extra necessary remaining ACC video games, he ought to have handled it as such and sat his greatest gamers. Particularly operating again Desmond Reid — Pitt’s greatest playmaker — who has been battling accidents all season and ended up leaving Saturday’s recreation with one other damage.
If it was a really meaningless recreation, why put gamers like him in danger?
Both it issues, or it doesn’t matter.
If it issues, why would you downplay it?
If it doesn’t matter, why deal with it prefer it does?
Whether or not it was clumsy feedback or his true ideas popping out, it made Pitt’s already-bad efficiency look even worse.
