Just Win: Pitt Has One Job Against Youngstown State

I don’t know if I’m able to describe the difference between where Pitt sits after three games this season as opposed to three games last season. It’s night and day. But…

Pitt cannot afford to overlook Youngstown State. There’s a bye week coming up, and then a chance to pick up a program first on the road against North Carolina — a win. And, you know, the program is 3-0 through the first quarter of the season, coming back in dramatic fashion against Cincinnati and West Virginia in back-to-back weeks.

There’s a renewed sense of optimism surrounding Pitt football. It would be easy to look ahead to what’s to come in the coming weeks and months.

Why not Pitt? Why can’t this team make a run??

Hold up. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here; Pat Narduzzi wasn’t even happy with the overall performance against West Virginia.

“(P.J O’Brien Jr.) came up to me after our team meeting last night and said, ‘Coach, smile, we won the game.’ If gives you any indication,” Narduzzi said Monday. “That’s the first time in 10 years I’ve had a player come up to me and say, ‘Smile, we won the game.’ I wasn’t very happy. Again, winning is great. That’s great, we won. Sang the fight song in the locker room. Let’s get back to what we do. There was a lot of crap on the field that I didn’t like.”

There was a lot of crap on the field. We don’t have to dive too deep but shoddy play in the trenches, a dozen penalties and a handful of play calls marred an otherwise outstanding game from offensive coordinator Kade Bell.

It was the Backyard Brawl though. That’s the kind of game where you throw everything out of the window and just go play football. All that matters, at the end of the day, is a win. And Pitt got the win.

Pitt is 3-0 with a chance to exit non-conference play undefeated for the first time in program history. It’s only been 34 years, considering Pitt was an independent until the 1991 season, but that’s big-time. It may not mean anything in the pursuit of an ACC title, but it shows the kind of grit and determination that Narduzzi has preached for a decade now.

Pittsburgh Panthers Mascot Roc points to the crowd September 14, 2024. Michael Longo/PSN

But it will mean nothing if Pitt doesn’t do its job against Youngstown State.

Pitt is uniquely equipped to deal with YSU though. The Panthers are loaded with FCS-made coaches and players — and it starts at the top.

“We know what FCS, I-AA football, is,” Narduzzi said. “I played it, C.J. Lee played it. Poppi Williams played it. We have some darn good football players in this room that are FCS players. First thing you look at is respect. I respect every one of our opponents. I look down the roster, watch the videotape, this is a good football team, again, a playoff team. We’re excited about the opportunity to get into this week and get game planning.”

Bell came directly from the FCS level, along with Lee, Williams and Desmond Reid, who is currently the second-leading rusher in the ACC and is tied for second in all-purpose yards in all of FBS football.

This is a Pitt squad that is very well aware of the talent at the FCS level; I don’t think anyone is going to overlook the Penguins. Not at a talent level.

But Pitt still needs to go out and win, obviously, that’s the No. 1 goal. Win. Win, win, win. But the Panthers, the players in particular, talked about wanting to put together a complete four quarter performance this weekend. It would be ideal to carry a 42-0 halftime lead into extended action for the young players on the roster.

But no matter the score, no matter how many points the offense racks up, Narduzzi just wants a complete team performance in a win, too.

“We need to go out and empty our tanks and go 1-0 for the week,” Narduzzi said Thursday. “We got a good football team coming in Youngstown State, a lot of memories back there and should be a ball game. They got a good football team, they’ll be ready to go. Coming off last week’s game, they’ll give us their best shot, guaranteed.”

Although, it would be nice to give somebody like Reid a bit of a smaller workload, too. He’s racked up a lot of wear and tear on his body. But if Pitt needs him… he’s going to play. Very well.