It was a quiet flight home Sunday morning. SMU punched the Pitt Panthers in the mouth at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, and it certainly wasn’t a glancing blow.
It hurt. It really hurt. Pat Narduzzi saw the hurt firsthand, but so did his children.
Narduzzi was miserable at home Sunday, after attending mass with his family. And his kids said he was miserable.
“I’m usually miserable, you know?” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly press conference. “Maybe win or lose, I’m miserable.”
Narduzzi went home very early Sunday morning, went to church, said goodbye to his family and got straight back to work. There was no time to spare in “flushing” the loss to SMU down the drain. The team met Sunday night, the players met Sunday night — without the coaches — and the message was clear.
The season is far from over after just one loss.
Pitt needs to bounce back, though. And that’s been a recurring theme in the buildup to the Virginia game. The Panthers have legitimate postseason aspirations, whether in the conference or the College Football Playoff chase.
A bounce-back starts against Virginia. It was a bad loss against SMU, falling flat in one of the biggest games of the Narduzzi era, but that expectation has just shifted back a week.
With four games left, sitting at 7-1 (3-1 ACC) and 18th in the first CFP Poll, Pitt controls what it wants to accomplish this season. And Narduzzi has seen his team re-focus this week. There’s a level of determination and dedication to doing the right thing — on and off the field.
“They were great,” Narduzzi said. “Like I said, they were quiet, willing to learn, figure it out. I mean, hurt. That’s what you’re supposed to be after a loss, right? But they’re back today eating a bunch, ready to roll. I think young players are resilient nowadays. More resilient than coaches are, I think. So you got to make sure your staff is as good as your players are as far as wiping off and moving on. They’re good. They’re like normal kids. The good thing is they came in here with a serious attitude and don’t want it to happen again.”
Narduzzi is confident in a bounce back, but with the performance against the Mustangs, a bounce back is required in all three phases. And from the coaches.
Pitt hasn’t played well offensively over the last three games now, but offensive coordinator Kade Bell and the offensive staff have started to prepare Eli Holstein and the offense for a variety of situations. There’s a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball, which has been showcased this season, but it’s about adapting to what opposing defenses do now.
Pitt wasn’t good defensively against SMU either, coming off two dominant performances. And the most disappointing thing is that the Panthers had chances — the opportunities were there. But the execution wasn’t. That was a focus during the week of practice.
And while Ben Sauls isn’t likely to miss many kicks (after missing his first of the season against SMU), Caleb Junko struggled against the Mustangs.
There are two ranked opponents on the horizon in No. 23 Clemson and No. 22 Louisville, but while the Panthers may be ranked ahead of their conference foes, that doesn’t mean anything to Narduzzi.
“What do you do against Virginia?” Narduzzi said Thursday at his weekly press conference. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever we were ranked last week didn’t matter. We just gotta take care of business, and we gotta focus on the game and execution and running the ball and throwing the ball and stopping the run. Simple game, guys, not that complicated.”
Pitt can bounce back against Virginia at 8 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium. It might just make Narduzzi a bit less miserable.
