Why Notre Dame is 'absolutely not' a must-win for Pitt's Pat Narduzzi and everything else he said about the Irish

ESPN’s College GameDay on site. Two two-loss teams very much in the thick of the College Football Playoff race. A Pitt head coach who has said some not-so-flattering things about Notre Dame before … and somehow managed to one-up all of his previous quotable moments with something he said during his Monday press conference this week.

Given the stakes, given the magnitude of No. 9 Notre Dame (7-2) at No. 23 Pitt (7-2) on Saturday at noon ET, is this a must-win game for the Panthers?

“Absolutely not,” Pat Narduzzi said.

Welp. So much for all the fanfare.

Narduzzi added, “it is not an ACC game. I gladly get beat 103 or 110 to 10 in that game. They can put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that.”

Just get Narduzzi and the Panthers back to regularly scheduled conference games, apparently. This one against top-10 Notre Dame means … nothing?

He didn’t exactly say that, but he implied it. Here is everything else he said in his 22-minute meeting with the media yesterday.

Opening statement

“Obviously coming off an open week. We talked last week, so I’m not going to talk about the last game. We’ll move right into this week. But we had a great week off, I guess, if you want to call it. Had two good practices. Had a chance to get fresh, get a little bit healthier, get as healthy as you can get in November because everybody’s banged up.

“Got a chance to really go back and self-scout what we do on all three phases of the game. And just kind of look at who we are, look at fundamentals, what can we do better in all phases. And I think that’s kind of what you do in an open week, evaluate each position as far as what we’re doing there, what we have to improve on. So I think a great week as far as that goes.

“And then we’re on to Notre Dame. Heavy game planning this week. Just a tiny bit last week. We were worried about Pitt last week and focus on Notre Dame kind of in a normal game week schedule. So, again, Marcus Freeman, heck of a football player. Obviously a former linebacker. He was a great player at Ohio State. And obviously he’s a tremendous coach. He’s a competitor in all respects. You watch him on game day. He’s into it. I mean, he’s not just a sit back, he’s very active. I can imagine he’s active just being a defensive guy in all their meetings, offensively, defensively, and special teams because they’re aggressive in all three phases.

“They’ve got, you know, an incredible team. I’ve said this before, we’ve faced some really good teams and some better than others. But this is by far the most athletic, the best team across the board at all phases, every position that we’ll face. It’s America’s team. It’s the All-American team, period. They’ve got the best players from all of America and our guys will have their work cut out for them. It will not be easy at noon on Saturday. They’ve got players everywhere.

“Mike Denbrock, obviously their offense coordinator, does a great job. Was at LSU. Was at Notre Dame. Was at LSU, he’s back. I think was at Cincinnati as well. So he’s been all over the place and does a heck of a job calling a game. They do a great job with check with mes at the line of scrimmage. They’ll be a little bit of a slower tempo team, but they’ll be on the ball looking for IDs on what we look like, what we’re doing, and what kind of signals we’re making, all that kind of stuff that you can imagine happens in college football.

“Obviously it starts with CJ Carr at the quarterback spot. A young guy but plays like he’s a senior. Can make all the throws. Manages the game well. Doesn’t make mistakes. He plays disciplines. You go to the tailback spot, Love and Price, two great tailbacks, number four and number 24. Obviously, they got Heisman Trophy candidates. They got Thorpe Awards on defense. But Love and Price are, Love’s obviously special. And then when he goes out, the Price kid comes in there, and he’ll run it down your throat as well. So they’re a two-headed monster at the tailback spot.

“Raridon at the tight end spot, number nine, is special. Malachi Fields, number zero, special. Jordan Faison in the slot is a guy that’s the leading receiver. He can make you miss. He’s also their punt returner.

“And then defensively I could just keep going on and on about all the names that are out there. But they’re special everywhere. Front seven, they got probably the Thorpe winner corner, number 15, Leonard. So they’re special across the board.

“And special teams, they’re aggressive on special teams. I mean, coordinator does a great job there as well. And they’re going to run reverses on kickoff. They have since North Texas when he was there, gone back and gone as far back as three jobs ago to see the reverses they did then. They’re still doing some of the same stuff here. They’re going to be aggressive on punt block. I mean, they’re going to try to go block a punt. We got to be great with our protection. Junko’s got to do a great job getting the ball off. And the return game is special. I mean, Price is back there for kickoff returns, Faison’s punt returner. I mean, they got dudes everywhere, and they play a lot of starters on special teams.”

What makes Jeremiyah Love the best running back in the country?

“Well, let’s start with, he’s got a ton of talent. But beyond the talent, probably like their head coach, they play hard. They play tough. I mean, they give great effort. I mean, they’re not just a – there’s talented teams out there that don’t play hard. This is an elite, talented group that plays hard all the time. I mean, in all three phases. I mean, every play is the game for them. They play like we want to play, okay?

“I would hope someone would say the same thing about our football team because we play hard all the time, whether we’re right or wrong or make a play or don’t make a play. But our guys play hard regardless of who’s in the game, and that’s who they are. I mean, defensive head coach, I think most defensive head coaches are like that. He’s intense, like I said. He’s aggressive in all three phases and he’s going to go attack you. He’s not waiting for things to happen. He’s going to go make it.

“I mean, they’ve got more fake punts than anybody in the country combined maybe. I mean, Navy calls a timeout just to, they’ll run their offensive line out there, their second offensive line. I mean, they’ll put their offensive line out there and try to fool you just like we saw last week with USC putting a quarterback at punter and throwing. We got to look out for that.

“We got to find out what number four is on the field. Is it Love or is it the linebacker, the 240-pound linebacker? So, size-wise we should be able to tell. But we’ll have to be on alert all the time for anything they do in special teams.

“And Love is special. Going back to that, they’re special. He’s talented. And again, going back to the effort that he plays with. I mean, you saw him Saturday night probably go down. But he’s not down. He rolls over a guy and takes it to the house. I mean, that’s – he just – he’s never down. We got to gang tackle both those tailbacks. But he’s got elite speed. He’s got track speed.”

What gives you confidence Pitt can compete with Notre Dame on this stage?

“What gives me confidence is what we’ve really done in our games so far this season. I mean, we’ve got nine games of who this team is. Our guys were locked in in a 4 o’clock team meeting, which is earlier than normal in an open week, based on what we did yesterday in our meetings. But you could play — you talk about the stage — you could play this game at 7 a.m. over at the field house on campus. You can play it at Carnegie Mellon. You can play it in the parking lot out here or in our indoor facility. Doesn’t matter what time. Doesn’t matter who we’re playing against. Our guys will come to play, period.

“And all the hoopla, the GameDay and all that stuff, that’s great for the city of Pittsburgh. It’s great for the University of Pittsburgh. It’s on a big stage. But in here, we’re insulated in here as far as that goes. I mean, it’s just a game. I mean, once that kickoff starts, our guys got to be locked in and play one play at a time to be focused. That’s what it comes down to. You guys can get all excited. But we’re just going to play our game.”

How do you stay focused amongst all the hoopla?

“Yeah, great question. The focus is just like it is when we opened up against Duquesne or whoever we opened up. Is that who we opened up with? I mean, the focus is the same. It’s a football game. And it comes down to the details. And you got to win the inches on Saturday. If you don’t win the inches, you’re going to get beat. You might get beat really bad by a team like Notre Dame. So they’ll stay focused because it comes down to the details. And you can’t execute properly when you’re out of control, when you’re too excited and you’re focused on the wrong things. To be focused on GameDay? Good luck to you. We’re in big trouble.”

Is this a good problem to have, to be the center of college football on Saturday at noon, especially after two early losses?

“Yeah, I mean, there’s no doubt about it. It’s a good place to be. But, again, that’s what our guys work for. That’s what the dream is. But we’ve been 7-2 before too. So it’s not like this is the first 7-2 football team we’ve had in Pittsburgh. We’ve been there before. And our guys know the mistakes we’ve made. And the big thing is how are we going to respond after being 7-2? And can we finish the season the right way? That’s my focus.”

Is Notre Dame tougher to defend because of the commitment to run the football compared to other teams?

“Not really. I mean there’s a lot of teams that wanted to do it like that. Stanford still wanted to run the ball. BC wanted to run the ball. I mean, even on third down, they were going to run the ball. So we faced other teams that want to establish a run game. They’re no different. They’re just doing it with the best players in America. So that makes it a bigger challenge.”

Were you scoreboard watching in the ACC over the bye week?

“I watched the games, and in the evening, there was a lot of good games on with two minutes to go at exactly the same time, which drives me crazy, that recall button. And I don’t like watching four or five, but I’m watching every game I possibly can. I’m watching Miami, Syracuse. I’m watching them all, but not worried about that because we can look and see what happened by the other teams in the ACC or in the country. We got to do what we got to do. We just take care of our business. I’ve told our guys all along, just, one game at a time, we just take care of what we do. We control our destiny, period. You can look and go, oh, yeah, we’re in good position, and then get smacked in the mouth, and you’re not in such a good position.”

Is Pitt ready to match Notre Dame’s physicality?

“We’ll find out Saturday at noon. I sure hope so. I mean, they’re bigger. They’re stronger. They’re faster. But our guys will play hard like they will. I don’t have any doubts about that.”

The last two times Pitt has played Notre Dame, you’ve been outscored 103 to 10

“Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you.”

How personal is this game for the people at Pitt who were there for those games?

“There’s nothing personal about it. It’s the next game. Nobody cares about what happened in 2020 when Joey Young was playing quarterback. Nobody cares in 2023 when we went there and the first three series of the game, I think we turned them over and we scored zero points. And I think their first touchdown was on a punt return for a touchdown. And I told you they’re really good and their special teams. It’ll be a special teams war because I think we’re a lot better than we were back in 2023.

“But that’s why they play the game. 2025. The past doesn’t matter. You can take all the scores, what is it, 103 to 10? I mean, yeah, you can take all those scores and we’ll find out what happens Saturday. That’s why you get to play the game.”

Was there a moment when you felt like you had to circle the wagons after losing two games early? Notre Dame lost two games early as well.

“Not really. I mean, you look at, like, I feel like nobody beat us this year. We beat ourselves. So as long as we take care of business and keep our focus, as we’ve talked about in here, we’re going to have a chance to win a football game. I think we’ve got a really good football team, too. They lost the first couple, but Coach Freeman did a heck of a job bouncing back. I mean, they played some good people and that’s why they play the games.”

What is the importance of minimizing mistakes against a team like Notre Dame?

“If you’re getting third and long against these guys, you’re in big trouble. So I just tell you that right now on Monday morning. If you’re getting third and long, their third down package is elite. They’ve got a different one every week. You’re going to see all kinds of different stuff. They’re going to blitz from everywhere and try to kill your quarterback. So that comes down to the focus, right? I mean, it comes down to our focus and the details and how we practice, our practice habits this week, and hopefully it transfers on the field on Saturday.”

How will your true freshman quarterback handle all the noise surrounding this game?

“Obviously we’re confident because he’s been our guy for the last five weeks. And just like his first start, it’s not sure how he’s going to respond. And going to the sixth start, big game, how’s he going to respond? But we’ve got a lot of faith in him. And, again, we’ve just got to make sure he doesn’t go out there and try to be the guy, and let your players around you make plays. Don’t try to make them all by yourself.”

How do you go about preparing to play against a Notre Dame team that has 16 interceptions this season?

“I mean, you’re talking about a team that will take the ball. They’ve got great ball skills in the back end. Not only can they run, they’ll have a guy — this podium’s got him beat, and this guy will be trailing and burst in front of the ball and take it away. It’s like, holy cow, what a great play. I mean, again, that’s the speed you’re talking about that you don’t normally see. So some of those throws that maybe worked the last few weeks might not necessarily work this week. So it’s got to be a focus of protecting the ball. He’s watching the tape right now, and coaches are watching it. We’ve got to be smart with football. So, turnover ratio in this game has got to be critical, period.”

What does the Pitt vs. Notre Dame series mean to you?

“It’s another game. I mean, after the game it will mean a lot. Before the game it means nothing. Like I said, you’re facing a tremendously coached team, a talented football team, and we’ve just got to go out and play ball. It doesn’t do anything as far as me at Pitt or anything else. I mean, what’s it matter?”

Is Pitt vs. Notre Dame a rivalry?

“I think so. I mean, we haven’t played them since COVID in an empty stadium. I shouldn’t say that. The last time we played them at home was COVID in an empty stadium. And so, I think it’s a rivalry game, but they’ve got all kinds of rivalries. Rivalry game against Navy, rivalry game against BC. They’re all rivalries. Anybody that plays Notre Dame, I think it’s a rivalry game because of how good they are.”

Would you like the ACC to go back to divisions and are you well-versed in the conference tiebreaker system?

“Yeah. I remember vividly campaigning, you might say, for keeping the divisions. And then you add teams. That was back before you added teams. Now you’ve got even more teams. You’ve got this big, long line. I remember talking to Dino Babers saying, Dino, it’s a lot different being, sixth or seventh in the division as opposed to, like, 15 or 16 in the ACC. I mean, when you’re way down there, it gets you fired. And being sixth doesn’t sound as bad in the league. So I was a big proponent of keeping the divisions. I still believe in it. I still think it’s still the best.

“I think you guys heard me say this before. I think it propelled us being a coastal division champion to start off with and then having an opportunity to go win an ACC championship after that in ’21. To me, if we weren’t some type of ‘champion’ in ’18, I don’t know if we ever get to ’21. So I think there’s a building block that you need. And now, I mean, you don’t get a chance to be a co-champion anymore. I mean, the NFL, you’ve got NFC and AFC champions. And there’s fireworks and confetti and a stage. Now it’s one or two. And if you don’t win the championship in Charlotte, you’re a bad team, period, end of season, like that. So I’m a big proponent of the divisions.

“And I remember going through, it’ll make you dizzy. I don’t even look, like I said, I don’t look at the standings. I don’t care. Let’s just win our football games and go 1-0 every week. But if you look at, I know the first one is head-to-head. After that, it’s like, I’m not the math major. I’m not looking at it. I don’t care who played who. But you’re going to come down to it. I think we talked a couple weeks ago about possibly sitting in front of your team saying, hey, we’re not going because we didn’t play this team. That’s no fun. But that’s the life we’re in, and we’ll live with it.”

Do you remember the conversations about expansion and doing away with divisions?

“Well, it was so long ago, I don’t know. I know there were some coaches that aren’t in the league anymore that were whining because they had to play Clemson every year. And in our division, it’s too tough, so we can’t win a championship. And I’ll go back in ’21, we beat Clemson in the regular season. We had them on our schedule. And so to me that was just kind of a cop-out. I think it was more of, we don’t want to play Clemson, let’s spread it out and not have to play Clemson every year. So that wasn’t me. I could care less. Just put them on our schedule every year and stay in two divisions. Give us Clemson. It’s even better.”

Does parity in a 12-team CFP system hurt the ACC when anybody can beat anybody?

“It can hurt the league. You’ve got to stay healthy, as we know that. I don’t know if our depth is like the SEC’s because they purchase a lot of players and they’ve got depth. I mean, you look at Virginia, their quarterback gets knocked out in the first half, and all of a sudden they’re playing with their backup, and that’s probably the reason they lost. If their starter plays in that game, they’re probably – we’re not sitting here having the same conversation. But it’s November and anything can happen. And the next man up. You’ve got to find a way to get it done somehow, some way. You’ve got to adjust.”

What have you seen Notre Dame QB CJ Carr do well?

“Oof, everything. Everything. I mean, I think he’s completing 68% of his balls, maybe more. And he’s just – he manages the game. He doesn’t throw interceptions. He can make every throw, as I talked earlier. And he gets them into the right play. I mean, they’re making calls in there, whether it’s third down and they like a front to run it against. Third and long, they’re going to run it and gain 15 yards on third down running the football. So, he’s getting them in the right play. He’s smart. Obviously, he’s Lloyd Carr’s nephew, great football coach at Michigan. So, he’s a football coach’s dream, I guess. And he’s got a year under his belt. He’s not a true freshman. Mason’s a true freshman. So, you take it, where is Mason going to be in another year? That’s trying to compare those two.”

Do you have some different conversations with your quarterback about how this is the biggest game he’s ever played coming up?

“Maybe. I haven’t. Walked in there this morning at 6:30. He’s in there watching tape. Not really. I mean, it’s like talking to the kicker, just don’t mess with him if things are going good. He knows he’s got to play the best game he’s played all year to win this football game. He knows that. I think he doesn’t want to do anything to hurt the football team, so he’s got to be smart. But he’s also got to take chances too, right? I mean, if you sit back there and you’re worried about not—I don’t want to get him to that point where he doesn’t make that great throw because coach told me to protect the ball. He’s got a guy open, but he was a little bit scared, so he took off running and got hit. I just want him to go play his game, but just understand you’ve got to be smart.”

Do you feel like you have a good understanding of what you’re going to get out of your starting quarterback after six weeks?

“Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think for sure. I mean, a heck of a lot more we know now than we knew going into that first game he started. Yeah, we know a lot more about what he is, what he likes to do, what we like to do with him and his strengths and weaknesses. Again, that’s what we’ve kind of addressed here over the last week is just, every position, obviously starting with that quarterback spot. What does he do well? What does he not do so well? And don’t ask him to do things he doesn’t do well. Let’s ask him to do things he does well, and let’s keep it simple and let him go out and execute.”

How do you feel about your running game right now?

“Depends on who’s in that front seven. I mean, those guys, I mean, again, this week, I mean, they don’t let you run the ball. I mean, they really didn’t let Navy run the ball, and that’s what they do for a living. So, you’re going to have to pick your poison with that. It’s tough. We’ve got to find ways to run the ball. We want to run the ball. We will run the ball. I guarantee you that. I just don’t know what it’s going to be for. It might be not so good. But you have to establish some type of run game, and you’ve got to prove to them that you’re going to run it. You can’t just drop back and throw it 80% of the time or you’re going to be in deep, deep trouble. It becomes third down long, which I’ve already talked about that.”