Pitt back to work; Jordan Addison, Izzy Abanikanda questionable

When Pat Narduzzi returned home Saturday night after Pitt’s decisive victory against Clemson, he declined to celebrate.

Maybe he sat down, ate a late supper with his family and put his feet up after a long day of standing and pacing the sideline.

Such is the life of a coach in major college football. The victory was history, “flushed down the toilet” as Narduzzi so graphically explained to reporters.

Another opponent awaits — Miami on Saturday at Heinz Field — and the pressure continues to build on a 6-1 coach and team who are overwhelming favorites to win the ACC.

ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Pitt a 60.3% chance to win the conference championship, far ahead of N.C. State with the next-best chance at 15.1%.

Living up to those expectations can weigh on a coach.

“I will go home. My kids are, ‘Dad, why are you not happy?’

“Because I know what’s on the horizon, what’s coming into Heinz Field Saturday at noon,” he said. “Hard to enjoy anything, as a coach at least.”

Although Miami (3-4, 1-2 ACC) is unranked, and Pitt (6-1, 3-0) is No. 17 in the Associated Press poll, beating the Hurricanes will be no simple task for the Panthers. Especially in light of recent events.

Narduzzi confirmed there is a good chance Pitt’s leading wide receiver Jordan Addison and No. 1 running back Izzy Abanikanda will miss the game with concussions suffered against Clemson.

“Real questionable for this weekend, unfortunately,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll see. I mean, you can’t ever project what’s going to happen, but we’re going to protect our kids. It’s always going to be protect our guys. We’ll see where they are.”

The disclaimer in that statement is Narduzzi made it on a Monday, five days — 120 hours — before kickoff. Those players’ medical conditions could improve. In any case, Narduzzi said he will leave the decision to play or not play to the team’s UPMC doctors.

“I stay out of it. They just come up and say, ‘Hey, he’s out with this.’ That’s kind of how it goes,” he said.

“We got the best doctors in the world in Pittsburgh. We do what they tell us to do. There’s really not much of a discussion.”

Addison was injured in the first half and returned briefly but missed the entire second half. Narduzzi said he looked “a little bit dazed.”

“I think he was watching the game with his mother in the locker room. She struggled to get in the locker room after the game because they’re like, ‘You can’t come in there.’ (She said) ‘I’m going to see my boy.’ ”

Narduzzi said Addison wanted to return to the game, but he was overruled by a power higher than any coach or doctor — Mom.

“She’s like, ‘No, you aren’t,’ ” Narduzzi said.

Narduzzi said Pitt’s players have been schooled on the immediate and long-term consequences of concussions.

“It’s going to hurt you long-term, keep you out longer when those headaches appear,” he said. “I think keeping (players) out for a week is the best thing.”

The only good news is the injuries occurred at two positions where Pitt has depth. Addison leads the team with 39 catches for 670 yards and 10 touchdowns, but Pitt has eight other pass catchers with either double-digit receptions or triple-digit yards.

Abanikanda, who has run for 403 yards and 5.2 per carry, splits time with junior Vincent Davis, second with 263. Plus, freshman Rodney Hammond Jr., who leads Pitt’s regulars with an average of 5.8 yards per carry, turned out to be the team’s leading rusher Saturday after gaining all 66 of his yards in the fourth quarter.

The other potential issue is Pitt, already installed as a 10-point favorite, has not played well against Miami. Since quarterback Kenny Pickett helped upset the No. 2 Hurricanes in 2017 in his first career start as a freshman, Pitt has scored one touchdown in three games, getting 27 of its 34 points from field goals.

The emphasis this week will be eliminating the sloppiness that led to nine penalties for a loss of 87 yards against Clemson. Also, the Tigers helped Pitt’s cause by catching only 15 of 32 targeted balls, with three drops, according to Pro Football Focus. One of those drops by running back Will Shipley would have given Clemson a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.

“A lot of things we can still clean up. We’re not near where we need to be,” Narduzzi said.

Notes: SirVocea Dennis and Carter Warren were named ACC linebacker and offensive lineman of the week. … Pitt’s game at Duke on Nov. 6 will start at noon and be televised by the ACC Network. … Strong safety Brandon Hill, who leads the team in tackles (46) and pass breakups (six), has been named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to college football’s best defensive back.