Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Has Long-Standing History With Youngstown State

Pat Narduzzi owes just about everything to Youngstown, Ohio.

The internet may say that Narduzzi is from New Haven, Conn., where he was born while his father, Bill, coached at Yale, but he’s a Youngstown native through and through. His time in Youngstown molded him into the man he is today.

Bill, who spent 25 years as a college coach, worked his way up to serve as the Youngstown State head coach in the mid-70s. Pat was just a boy then, but he fell in love with the sport during those early years in Youngstown. His father, the head coach, was his biggest inspiration.

“I grew up there,” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly presser. “I grew up in Youngstown. I was a ball boy this big. I got video for you. Ball boy this big. That’s how I grew up right there. We can talk about third grade I think is when we moved there. That was in my blood. That’s kind of why I’m a coach. Dad was your hero. I mean, yeah, it’s significant.”

Narduzzi turned his experience as a ball boy into becoming an All-Ohio linebacker at Ursuline High in Youngstown and eventually committed to play for his father at Youngstown State in 1985.

He only spent one season playing for the Penguins before finishing his collegiate career at Rhode Island, but Youngstown is in his blood. And there’s no doubt the matchup — and the link to his fathers — means something special. But it’s still just another game.

“There’s no question about it,” Narduzzi said. “It’s significant for me. But I’m not playing the game. I get to stand on the sideline with a hat on in coaching shoes. I don’t play the game.”

Pitt has played Youngstown State twice since Narduzzi has been at the helm, a 45-37 win in 2015 and a 28-21 overtime win in 2017. It’s been close, and the Panthers can’t afford another close performance against the Penguins. The stakes are higher than before.

Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi September 14, 2024. Michael Longo/PSN

Pitt has the opportunity to exit non-conference play unbeaten for the first time in program history.

Youngstown State hasn’t had a strong start to the 2024 season, dropping early games against Villanova and Duquesne. The lone win this season came against Valparaiso in Week 2, but despite the early struggles, the Penguins are still ranked 25th in the most recent FCS Coaches Poll.

Pitt is coming off its second straight fourth quarter comeback, but with all due respect to Cincinnati, the 38-34 win against West Virginia meant just a little bit more.

“I love that locker room to death,” Pat Narduzzi said Saturday in his postgame presser. “Our players never gave up. I’m sure some of the fans kind of gave up, and I thought, oh, there’s no way. But our guys didn’t give up. And if you didn’t learn that from last week, then hopefully you learned it from this week. And we’ll move on to the next.

Pitt erased a 10-point deficit with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter as WVU wasn’t able to stop Eli Holstein and the Pitt offense — after limiting the Panthers to just four yards in the second half prior. Holstein threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns — and added 59 rushing yards — in another incredible performance.

A 1-yard touchdown dive by Derrick Davis Jr. with just over 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, as Holstein was on the sideline after having his helmet ripped off, clinched the massive win for the Panthers.