The stage is set for one of the biggest football games in the last decade — Pitt. No. 23 Pitt will play host to No. 9 Notre Dame at noon on Saturday in one of the most anticipated games across college football this season.
ESPN’s College Gameday is in town, as well as ACC Network’s ACC Huddle. The team nearly controls its own destiny when it comes to the ACC Championship, and an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff is not entirely out of the question.
With that in mind, head coach Pat Narduzzi had easily the most attended of his weekly Monday afternoon press conferences, and it was chock full of interesting tidbits for the week ahead.
Narduzzi was complimentary of his opposing head coach, Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame. He mentioned Freeman’s career as a player, which consisted of a strong college career as a linebacker at Ohio State, as well as one NFL season with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills.
He then moved on to discussing the Notre Dame team itself — giving them high praise — as they are more than likely the toughest opponent yet for Pitt.
“They are an elite, talented group that plays hard all the time,” Narduzzi said.
Notre Dame features top playmakers like junior running back Jeremiyah Love, who is considered the top running back in college football by many outlets. Pitt currently boasts the No. 6 rushing defense by fewest yards allowed and the fewest yards per carry by any FBS team, but Love is easily the toughest test for the team.
At the quarterback position, Notre Dame is led by redshirt first-year C.J. Carr, who has helped the team play a strong nine games. Pitt’s defense in the pass game is lacking heavily, as they rank No. 95 in passing yards allowed across FBS.
Despite the 7-2 record that includes losses to West Virginia and Louisville, Narduzzi had a different perspective on the team’s record this season. He believes they lost those two games, as opposed to the other two teams beating them. Both games involved insufficient quarterback play by redshirt sophomore Eli Holstein, which led to his benching.
“Nobody has beat us this year,” Narduzzi said.
Now, the focus turns to the games ahead. With Notre Dame upcoming, Pitt will finish its schedule with conference games against Georgia Tech away and Miami at home. Because the upcoming matchup is not a conference game, Narduzzi was asked how important the result is for his team and the remainder of their season.
“Absolutely not. It is not an ACC game,” Narduzzi said. “I’d gladly get beat [by] 103 or 110-10 in that game. They could put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that.”
Through this, Narduzzi gave the Notre Dame team and fans prime “bulletin board material,” as the quote makes it seem like he is overlooking the matchup.
The upcoming rivalry matchup will have massive implications, for better or for worse. You can catch the game at noon on ABC on Saturday, Nov. 15.