Coach who threw Jordan Addison under the bus earlier this year suffers humiliating loss
Pat Narduzzi dug a ditch by himself. This is a problem of his own making.
Narduzzi was not responsible for Jordan Addison transferring out of the University of Pittsburgh football program, and seeking out USC. That was Addison’s choice. It was going to happen regardless of what Narduzzi said or did. It was just a fact that with quarterback Kenny Pickett leaving for the NFL and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple leaving for Nebraska, Addison’s choice was obvious. Narduzzi didn’t have anything to do with that. However, Narduzzi still owns this situation for one very obvious reason:
He opened his mouth.
Let’s go inside the details of this disaster in Pittsburgh:
START HERE
Narduzzi said this about Addison when the receiver’s offseason plans were one of the bigger stories in the college football world:
“We helped him win a Biletnikoff and be the player he is. He had one of the best quarterbacks in the country throwing the ball every day. I think sometimes people forget how they got where they are.”
MORE PEOPLE THROWN UNDER THE BUS
Narduzzi didn’t just throw Jordan Addison under the bus. Remember what he said about former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple:
“Our old offensive coordinator had no desire to run the ball. Everybody knew it. He was stubborn. Wake Forest was 118th in run defense and we threw the ball every down. When we ran it, we ran it for 10 yards but that wasn’t good enough.”
BACKTRACKING
After a loss to Georgia Tech earlier this year as a 21-point favorite, Narduzzi had to concede this:
“Offense didn’t really get started until the last two series of the game,” Narduzzi said. “If we would’ve done that (have any rhythm) the whole game, we would have had a chance … Obviously I didn’t do a good enough job of getting them ready.”
IF YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS BAD
The loss to Georgia Tech was awful enough, but now Pittsburgh and Narduzzi have suffered another brutal loss, this time to a Louisville team whose head coach, Scott Satterfield, is squarely on the hot seat.
THE UGLY DETAILS
Pittsburgh’s 24-10 loss to Louisville, which plunged Narduzzi deeper into misery, was marked by a lot of jarring details. Let’s lead with this one: Pitt was outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter. Ouch.
GIVEAWAYS
Pitt committed four turnovers in the loss to Louisville.
KEDON SLOVIS
Slovis could sure use Jordan Addison on the Pitt roster. Slovis was 16 of 29 for 158 yards with two interceptions against Louisville.
LEVERAGE SITUATIONS
Pitt was just 4 of 11 on third downs and 0 of 2 on fourth downs against Louisville.
THE OPPONENT
It’s not as though Louisville played well on offense, either. The Cardinals were just 4 of 13 on third downs, also 0 for 2 on fourth downs. They completed just 13 passes and were outgained by Pitt (326-312). This game was a pillow fight, but Pitt’s turnovers were the difference.
NARDUZZI'S NIGHTMARE, PART ONE
Narduzzi had already lost to Georgia Tech when the Yellow Jackets were coached by an interim boss, Brent Key. That was Georgia Tech’s first game with Key as the head coach.
NARDUZZI'S NIGHTMARE, PART TWO
This loss to Louisville is against Scott Satterfield, a coach who is plainly on the hot seat. Louisville is 4-3 now, but the Cardinal have a backloaded schedule which still makes it unlikely that UL will reach a bowl game. If the Cardinals do fall short of a bowl this year, Satterfield is likely gone.
(Louisville’s remaining tough games: North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Kentucky.)
PITT SCHEDULE
The Panthers have North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia, Duke, and Miami left on their schedule. They will be underdogs against Carolina and Syracuse. Virginia will be a toss-up. Duke will be a toss-up. Miami? Who knows? At least two losses, maybe three or four, could emerge from that closing stretch.
BOTTOM LINE
Pitt won the ACC championship last year and went to a New Year’s Six bowl.
This year, the Panthers will be fighting for bowl eligiblity in November, and they could easily be 4-5 heading into their final three games, needing two wins to reach the postseason.
NEVER FORGET
NIL. Transfer Portal. Tampering.
Pat Narduzzi joined @RoddyJones20 on ACC Radio and talked about some of the challenges facing college football coaches right now. #H2P pic.twitter.com/K3quDowd3w
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) February 2, 2022
NEVER, EVER FORGET
I asked Lincoln Riley about tampering allegations levied against him and USC by Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi in regards to Jordan Addison:
Riley: "When someone challenges [your integrity] with no facts and only emotion, do you take it personally? Absolutely you do."
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) July 29, 2022
