Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi says his players don't feel disrespected, are singularly focused on SMU

Pat Narduzzi doesn’t remember the Kent State/Rutgers game played Oct. 27, 2012, in Piscataway, N.J.

Nor did the game register in his consciousness that day. He was too busy in Madison, Wisc., preparing Michigan State’s defense for its 16-13 overtime upset of No. 25 Wisconsin.

But what happened to Rutgers might be a lesson for his Pitt team, currently ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll, while it prepares to visit No. 20 SMU on Saturday in Dallas.

You see, there are two glaring similarities to that Rutgers team of 12 years ago and Narduzzi’s Panthers of 2024.

Similar records: 7-0.

Similar AP ranking: No. 18, the lowest by a 7-0 team in the AP poll era.

Narduzzi might not know what happened to the Scarlet Knights after they were 7-0. But he doesn’t want the same for his Pitt team. Rutgers’ high hopes turned to dust when the Knights committed seven turnovers in a 35-23 loss to Kent State and ended up losing four of their last six games, including 27-6 at home to Pitt.

This season, Pitt (7-0, 3-0 ACC) is one of eight undefeated teams in the FBS, but the visiting Panthers are 7 1/2-point underdogs to SMU (7-1, 4-0). So, it was no surprise that Narduzzi answered a question with a question Thursday when he was asked if he played the disrespect card in front of his players this week.

“For what?” he said. “I don’t think our kids’ feelings are hurt. I don’t think they feel disrespected. They’re not talking about it.”

He said his players are focused on the game in front of them.

“It’s about one game,” he said. “Worry about the things you can control. (Worrying about rankings) is a useless time. You don’t want to expend your energy on useless things that don’t matter. If we take care of our business, everything will work out the way we want it to.”

That doesn’t mean he will forget to motivate his players.

“I want our guys to play angry, play with an attitude, a chip on their shoulder all the time,” he said. “We’ll find different ways to get them angry and feel disrespected.

“Our motto for the year is ‘Prove it.’ Just find a way to get it done and prove who you are week-in and week-out because nobody cares what happened in the first seven games.

“If you need a word and you need somebody to get you mad … there’s nothing I’m going to say or one of our coaches is going to say that’s going to get these guys revved up and ready to play. The game itself, going to Dallas, playing a really good SMU football team, that’s all you need. If you have a heartbeat, that’s what you need.”

His message to Pitt fans concerned with their team’s No. 18 ranking and perceived lack of national respect is: “Relax, support the football team and let’s just keep going 1-0. All of that stuff doesn’t matter.

“You look at the preseason rankings. How bad are those? There are a lot of overrated teams and maybe some underrated teams.”

A closer look reveals Narduzzi is right, with 10 of the 25 teams in the AP preseason Top 25 no longer ranked. In fact, Florida State was 10th before the games started and then the Seminoles lost seven of their first eight. BYU, the only team to defeat SMU, is ranked No. 9 in the current poll, but the Cougars received zero votes in the preseason.

An underlying problem may be an overall lack of national respect for the ACC. No. 5 Miami is the only team from the conference in the top 10, followed by No. 11 Clemson, Pitt and SMU. Pitt owns impressive come-from-behind victories against Cincinnati and West Virginia and a 41-13 rout of Syracuse that included three pick-6s, but the Panthers have yet to play a ranked team. Two of its seven victories were against Kent State (0-8) and Youngstown State (3-6).

But the Panthers are slowly appearing on the AP voters’ radar. Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranks Pitt No. 9. Plus, the Panthers this week received no vote lower than No. 20, only six voters placed them that low and all 62 put them somewhere between Nos. 9 and 20.

What’s preferable?

• To be included in the AP Top 25 on the last day of October …

• … or being one of eight undefeated teams in the FBS 10 weeks into the season?

There’s no right answer, but the only certainty is that both are incomplete grades.