Vukovcan: Embarrassing Performance by Pitt Coaches and Players to End 2025 Season

The Pitt football program can’t get out of their own way and is why they have a hard time being anything more than an average football program.

There’s no greater example to show than what took place today in the Military Bowl against East Carolina.

Credit to head coach Blake Harrell and the East Carolina program for showing up to this game ready to play and showing they wanted to win the game. The same certainly can’t be said for the team on the other sideline.

As I wrote right after Pitt received the bid to this bowl game, they should just decline it because nothing good could happen from playing.

As we’ve watched from previous Pat Narduzzi coached bowl games, the players don’t show up and the season ends with an embarrassing loss, which is exactly what happened today.

Despite being down two coordinators and four key starters on offense, including their starting quarterback, East Carolina outplayed and outcoached a full Pitt roster for four quarters and came away with a 23-17 win.

The Pitt football program as a whole should be ashamed of themselves.

Instead of finishing the season with nine wins, something they’ve only been able to accomplish five times in the last 43 years, Pitt finishes with a record of 8-5, which equates to another average and mediocre season for Narduzzi and Pitt.

Last season ended with a pitiful loss to Toledo in a no-nothing bowl, and 2025 ends by losing to an under-manned East Carolina team. If the people at Pitt wonder why they fail to gain any traction in this town, why crowds are average and they can’t get money from boosters and major corporations, remember days like today.

Plenty of blame needs to be thrown at this coaching staff starting with Narduzzi for failing to get his players mentally and physically ready to play. Performances like this in bowl games under Narduzzi are becoming a trend, which is a poor reflection of the head coach.

Hate to use them as an example, but the Penn State players had every reason not to show up today against Clemson.

They were missing a double-digit number of players due to them either declaring for the NFL Draft, opting out of the game or deciding to transfer. Despite all of that, interim head coach Terry Smith got them to play and they defeated Clemson, 22-10.

Smith got this group of players to do this in his first season as an interim coach, but Narduzzi still can’t after 11 years. Makes you wonder.

Narduzzi is now 2-6 in bowl games with back-to-back losses against Group of Five opponents. If you can’t get your team ready to play, what’s the use showing up just to get embarrassed. I feel bad for the loyal Pitt fans that made the drive to Annapolis to watch that mess.

Criticize Narduzzi because he certainly deserves it but the biggest reason for today’s debacle was Pitt’s offense. The game plan along with the execution by every single player on offense was embarrassing.

*The passing game couldn’t get anything down the field because quarterback Mason Heintschel had zero time to drop back. The intermediate passing game was non-existent due to Heintschel’s inaccuracy along with drops.

*By the way, how do Kenny Johnson and Blue Hicks finish the game with zero catches? East Carolina’s cornerbacks are that good?? That’s on play calling.

*How is this team so bad on second- and third-and-1? I guess they didn’t notice that running up the middle wasn’t working.

*Having it happen against teams like Notre Dame and Miami is one thing but for this offensive line to get whipped for four quarters is sad and this offensive line unit and coaching needs to be addressed in the off-season.

*Blame the coaches all you want and I’ll lead the charge on that but at the end of the day, this team turned the ball over five times.

The disappointing part is that Pitt’s best players were responsible for all of the turnovers. Turner’s two fumbles can’t happen, the same can be said for Johnson’s fumbled punt return. Heintschel’s fumble occurred because of a terrible job of blocking from his blindside, and the interception was simply a poor throw.

To their credit, East Carolina turned those turnovers into 13 points. That’s the ballgame.

*After playing a very good first half, the Pitt defense struggled in the second half allowing two long TD passes to a freshman quarterback and another long TD run that was called back on a terrible call from the officials.

All in all, it was a day to forget for Pitt football but trust me, the fans won’t be forgetting this anytime soon.

Instead of talking about an all-time performance by Rasheem Biles and taking some momentum of a 9-win season into the offseason and possibly starting the 2026 season ranked, Pitt will close this season thinking about this nightmare of a performance and effort of this team.

As a whole, Pitt wants to be considered a topflight program, wants to be considered for better bowl games, wants money for NIL but days like this are what holds them back.

This university has to eventually make a decision on what they want to be as an athletic department. Are they just happy to be an 8-win season in football and win 17 games in hoops or do they really want to compete.

If they’re really in it to win it, the question eventually has to be asked if this is the group to do it.