Pat Narduzzi seeks to keep Pitt players' focus on Boston College, not a bowl game

Pat Narduzzi might not like to admit it, but his Pitt teams previously have dealt with slumps. Actually, it was only 12 months ago.

Pitt was 2-8 as it approached 2023 senior day at Acrisure Stadium, but the Panthers found a way to defeat Boston College, 24-16. This season, Pitt has a much better record (7-4, 3-4 ACC), but, just like last year, it will take a four-game losing streak into its game Saturday against Boston College, this time in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

When he was asked how his team is able to focus in the face of misery, he turned philosopher and said, “It’s a game of life, right?

“This is places we’ve been before. As a matter of fact, I think last year we had a crappy season if I recall. We came back. And how do we do that? How do we come back on senior day and beat BC last year, last (home) game of the season? I don’t have a clue how we did it, but we did. That’s kind of what happens. It’s a game.”

When Narduzzi spoke to reporters this week, he put a positive spin on Pitt’s losing streak that included lopsided losses to SMU (48-25) and Louisville (37-9) and victories that got away against Virginia (24-19) and Clemson (24-20).

He acknowledged that allowing SMU and Louisville, two of the best teams in the ACC, to grab early leads made recovery difficult.

“But you look at Virginia, maybe we’re a fifth down away from winning that game (referring to the controversial do-over that allowed the Cavaliers to retain possession late). Think about Clemson, maybe we’re a spot at the goal line away from winning that football game.”

In the Clemson game, he was referring to running back Desmond Reid’s dive toward the pylon that landed 2 yards short of the goal line.

“We’re a damn good football team,” he said, a bit defiantly. “We’ve got talent in that room. We’ve just got to put it all together. But we just seem to not be able to stay healthy, especially on the offensive side of the ball.”

Win or lose against Boston College, Pitt is eligible for a bowl game for the eighth time in Narduzzi’s 10 seasons. Pitt was eligible (6-5) at the end of the covid-interrupted 2020 season, but university officials opted out of a bowl game for health reasons.

When he was asked this week if his players are up for a bowl game, he answered with an authoritative yes.

“Hell yeah,” he said. “Better be.”

Of course, with another game remaining, Narduzzi said he hasn’t even thought about the postseason.

“I don’t talk about a bowl game. I’m not worried about a bowl game,” he said, not wanting to steer the focus off Boston College. “Four weeks ago we were worried about something more important than that. You’re talking about like a nine-win season, a 10-win season, whatever it may be. So, hey, you’re looking at an eight-win season, what your goal is (Saturday), then move on from that.

“Our guys would be excited about a bowl game.”

Bowl invitations go out Dec. 8, the day after the ACC championship game. The ACC is affiliated with 12 bowls, and 13 of the conference’s 17 schools would be eligible if N.C. State defeats North Carolina on Saturday. Not all will go to a bowl, however, because SMU, Louisville and Clemson are still in the hunt for a berth in the College Football Playoff.

A Pitt victory Saturday could impact its bowl options favorably, but sports betting analyst Doug Farmer of Covers.com said there are “a lot of ifs” involved at this point.

“If I were to predict Pitt’s bowl game, it would be the Gasparilla (Dec. 20 in Tampa, Fla.) or the Birmingham (Dec. 27),” Farmer said, noting the opponent would come from the AAC or SEC.

Pitt went to Birmingham, Ala., for a bowl three years in a row (after the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons), but those games are far enough in the past that it wouldn’t matter in 2024.

“As much as Pitt is a quality football program with names in its past, it is not as big a deal as some of the teams on the upper half of the ACC pecking order right now,” Farmer said. “If Pitt doesn’t get a win this weekend, it is firmly in the lower second tier of the ACC standings.”