Analysis: After Pitt's 51-point loss to Notre Dame, will Pat Narduzzi's remarks rub some players wrong?

A week ago, there was understandable concern about how or if Pitt could recover from the bitter loss to Wake Forest.

After Saturday’s historically bad 58-7 loss to Notre Dame, there’s evidence to suggest what happened in Winston-Salem, N.C., affected events seven days later in South Bend, Ind.

Yet Pat Narduzzi might have made it worse by truthfully answering a question about what has led to Pitt’s 2-6 record.

During his postgame news conference Saturday night, Narduzzi said his team is “going through a tough situation right now.”

Asked to amplify his remark, he said, “When you lose like you lost today, a tough one last week, why is it? I’ll go back. As a football coach, you lose a lot of good players a year ago. You think, as a coach, you have to replace them. We, obviously, haven’t.”

What he’s saying — without naming names — is that the players who have stepped up in the absence of several departed stars haven’t been good enough. It’s a critique of the 2023 roster and even the process in which they were brought on board.

He continued: “It starts with me. I didn’t do a good enough job coaching today. Put it on me. We have to make plays. It just comes down to making plays and doing a better job coaching.”

I am 100% responsible for today’s loss. Like I said after the game, it starts with me. I didn’t do a good enough job coaching today. Put it on me! I remain committed to finishing the season strong with our team!

— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) October 29, 2023

So far from what I seen on social media, not very good

— gnb (@GeorgeNBroadbe1) October 29, 2023

huh???? https://t.co/YETRbKJpDY

— 2️⃣0️⃣ (@JavonMcIntyre2) October 29, 2023

Pitt has lost six of its past seven games, and now the head coach is making an unfavorable comparison between his current players and the ones who were 20-7 the previous two seasons and won the ACC championship in 2021. Some players appeared to take offense on social media.

Of course, Narduzzi is right. Pitt isn’t nearly as good as it was in 2021 and 2022, and the makeup of the roster is a big part of that.

But how will his comments affect practice this week, players’ mindsets and the final four games, starting Saturday with No. 4 Florida State coming to town? How will it affect next season? It’s so easy for players to transfer these days that coaches must be careful not to offend their players.

Meanwhile, the quest to replace quarterback Kenny Pickett, who was chiefly responsible for Pitt winning an ACC title, continues.

Related:

• Pitt suffers 58-7 loss to Notre Dame, drops to 2-6 for 1st time since 1998

Kedon Slovis didn’t work out. Phil Jurkovec didn’t make it through half a season before he was benched and started practicing with the tight ends. Christian Veilleux threw four interceptions against Notre Dame.

“I felt like it was on me that the offense wasn’t producing,” Veilleux said. “At the end of the day, you just have to make plays. I felt like I was just not putting the ball where it needed to be.

“Early on in the game, I was kind of rushed. My footwork wasn’t matching up with my eyes and my progression. I definitely felt like I could have calmed down and done a lot of things better.”

Is Veilleux’s inexperience showing through? Or does he not have a chance to show what he can do because the offensive line doesn’t give him time to do it?

Pitt used its sixth different configuration against Notre Dame, with Terrence Enos making his first start at right tackle, redshirt freshman tackle Ryan Baer protecting the quarterbacks’ blind side and first-year freshman B.J. Williams holding down right guard. Injuries ended the season for starters Matt Goncalves, the team’s best tackle, and guard Ryan Jacoby long ago.

“It’s not easy for any team to go through what we’ve gone through up front,” Veilleux said.

Part of the residual damage is tight end Gavin Bartholomew finishing the game with no catches Saturday night. He’s stuck on 17 receptions, an average of slightly more than two per game when he should be reaching at least double that total.

“It’s all depending on the scheme, the progression and the coverage,” Veilleux said. “Obviously, we were trying to get the ball into the playmakers’ hands. There were a couple of plays where I felt like I could have got off the first read and gone to the tight end. Gavin’s a great player. Obviously, we have to utilize him. But it always depends on what the defense is giving us, what we’re running.”

So many reasons for defeat, and we didn’t even mention the missed tackles, a season-long problem.

Narduzzi said he will gather his team this week in an attempt to put on a better show for the home crowd Saturday against Florida State. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium.

“The sun comes up tomorrow,” linebacker Brandon George said. “We’re still going to play football. Just have to make sure we put our heart and mind into it.”