PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – You may have noticed the shirt and tie from Pat Narduzzi on the sidelines on Saturday. It was to honor his father and then his team did as Pitt pounded Youngstown State 73-16.
A coach at Youngstown State for 11 years, he had a career .671 winning percentage, but was fired after Pat Narduzzi’s freshman year of playing for his father.
Narduzzi said it hit him recently-one, because his brother showed him a number of pictures of his father coaching at YSU last week. Two, Narduzzi held mentor meetings this offseason, he challenged players to discuss their hardships and heroes. As players discussed theirs, Narduzzi found himself talking about his dad and how hard it was for Pat to lose him at age 51.
“I asked them on Tuesday to go get one for my dad. Just try to make it personal. They took the challenge and we out there and tattooed them pretty good. My dad would be fired up as he was watching up there.”
“It was very personal to our coach about this game,” said Pitt linebacker Rasheem Biles. “He got the win.”
“The way that we did it against Youngstown,” said Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein. “It was a personal win for Coach Duzz, getting that win for him was huge.”
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It’s a series the Panthers lead 4-1 with a loss a dozen years ago, but Narduzzi said that was old Pitt.
“Back in 2012, Paul Chryst’s first year, you think about how far we’ve come as a program,” Narduzzi said. “They got beat by that team. In ’15, my first game, we beat them, but barely. ’17, we go overtime with them, wins are wins, but this third one was the way it is supposed to be.”