Pitt football team won't play in bowl game, even if one is offered

Pitt won’t accept a bowl invitation this year.

Coach Pat Narduzzi joined athletic director Heather Lyke on Friday in declaring on a university news release that the Panthers will not play in a bowl game. With a 6-5 overall record, Pitt was in line to earn a berth in one of the bowls affiliated with the ACC.

Earlier in the day, defensive end Patrick Jones, who played Thursday night in a victory against Georgia Tech, declared for the NFL Draft and said he wouldn’t join the team in a bowl game. Jones’ teammates Rashad Weaver and Damar Hamlin left the team before the Georgia Tech game to get a jump on their projected pro careers.

Steel City Kid! Thank You Pittsburgh! ??. #chasingMs pic.twitter.com/HUkzBDVHJz

— ????? ?????? (@HamlinIsland) December 12, 2020

Senior cornerback Jason Pinnock also did not plan to participate in a bowl game, joining his teammates in declaring for the draft.

Thank You, Pittsburgh! ?? Panther Nation Forever. #R15KYout ✌?#H2P #Connetiway ? #2021NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/zykkvb0SK1

— R15KY ? (@Jason_Pinnock) December 11, 2020

Pitt’s news release stated the decision to decline a bowl invitation “was made by the team and fully supported by the university.”

Earlier in the week, Narduzzi did not sway from his personal choice to have Pitt play a bowl game. He said so Monday; he reiterated that sentiment Thursday night.

“That’s my intention,” he said. But he added, “I don’t make all those calls. Those are decisions that are above my pay grade. We, obviously, always want to go play another one. I’d like to play 12.”

But Pitt played 11 games in the midst of a pandemic, an accomplishment many college football programs won’t reach this year.

“Our football student-athletes’ sacrifice and commitment have been extraordinary,” Lyke said on the release. “This season has been an especially taxing experience, physically and mentally, on and off the field.

“Despite this unprecedented environment, our team finished strong concluding with last night’s win at Georgia Tech. We are thankful and proud of how they handled the past six months and want them to have a well-deserved restful holiday season with their families and loved ones.”

Narduzzi was especially proud of how his team handled the covid-19 protocols. The Georgia Tech game, originally scheduled for Nov. 14, was the only one postponed by covid-related issues.

“There’s a lot of people canceling games left and right for whatever reasons,” he told reporters Thursday night. “They can’t do the right things off the field.

“Our kids have made the sacrifices to get to 11 (games). It’s not easy. They’ve been on this campus since June 8. It’s a grind like no other season ever again, I hope.

“Maybe the details off the field are better than on the field.”

“In my three decades as a coach, I’ve never been around a group of players who have faced greater challenges beyond the field than our team this year,” Narduzzi said on the release. “And yet, from the time they arrived back on campus in early June, these young men never wavered—not in the face of rigorous health protocols, multiple rounds of covid testing each week or while handling the mental and physical challenges of playing 11 games in a pandemic.

“I’ve always been proud to be Pitt’s head football coach. That pride was especially great in working with this 2020 team. They have my eternal gratitude and respect.”

Pitt hasn’t declined a bowl invitation since 1963, although the circumstances this year are dramatically different.

In 1963, Pitt turned down the Sun Bowl, hoping for a better destination. But the Penn State game was postponed from Nov. 23 to Dec. 7 after the John F. Kennedy assassination and the bowl organizers decided not to wait.

Pitt has played in 35 bowl games in its history, including after 11 of the previous 12 seasons.

Get the latest news about Pitt football and all things Panthers athletics.