‘I Don’t Know’: Pat Narduzzi Evades Starting Pitt QB Questions

Pat Narduzzi said following the loss to Syracuse over the weekend that he’d watch the tape, and then make a decision on whether there would be a second Pitt quarterback change this season.

Well, after not watching the tape together as a team Sunday (instead beginning to prepare for Boston College), Narduzzi said he doesn’t know who will start Thursday.

“I don’t talk injuries with ya, I don’t know,” Narduzzi said when asked Monday at his weekly press conference.

“This isn’t an injury question, are they hurt?” a reporter asked.

“I don’t know, are they? I don’t know,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll see Thursday night.”

Veilleux completed 13-of-22 pass attempts (59%) for 161 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Syracuse but most of that production came in the first half — and he botched two handoff attempts throughout the second half.

Yarnell was inserted late, with the outcome all but decided considering the flow of the game, and he completed 3-of-5 pass attempts for 48 yards in relief.

It was a dreadful day for the Pitt offense, racking up just 269 yards (60 yards on the ground) and turning the ball over four times. Pitt went 3-of-10 on third down, was out-possessed by nearly 15 minutes and killed any and all of its own momentum.

“We have a nice drive going, first series of the second half, we drive all the way down there and put the ball on the ground with a ball handling deal, which just can’t happen,” Narduzzi said following the loss.

Pitt is 114th in points per game (19.9) and 117th in total offense (310.5) in college football, and there are only four Power Five schools in each category that have been worse than Pitt this season. The passing offense is a disaster, with a couple of failing quarterbacks trying to run Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense, and the run game is non-existent. And we don’t know if a new quarterback will fix anything.

“We obviously as coaches have to put them in a better position to make plays,” Narduzzi said. “We didn’t put them in a position to make plays.”

Veilleux has completed 94-of-184 pass attempts (51.1%) for 1,179 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. And after two good starts, the first of his collegiate career, he’s slogged through three rough performances in a row. Yarnell has only played in two games this season, completing 5-of-8 pass attempts (62.5%) for 123 yards with a touchdown.

Narduzzi said that he will likely know whether Veilleux or Yarnell will be starting in the next day or two, but he said that it might come down to a decision on Thursday — in the locker room before kickoff. So, we truly will see.

Pitt and Boston College are scheduled to kickoff at Acrisure Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, and it will be broadcast on ESPN.