PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – You might say with this week's opponent, yeah New Hampshire is 3-0, but they beat Stony Brook, Towson and Lafayette. Given what happened last weekend, as Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said any team can win on a given Saturday. He added the Wildcats will be fired up to play at Heinz Field.
"There's really good football players up there," Narduzzi said. "There are good football players everywhere. There's small pockets of good players up there and New Hampshire's got quite a few of them."
Wildcats have three players over 144 yards rushing. Like last week, Pitt is facing a quarterback that hasn't thrown a pick. Sophomore Bret Edwards is completing 68% of his throws, 248 yards per game for seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Receiver Brian Espanet is 6'3" and has four touchdowns.
Defensively, New Hampshire allows only 104 yards a game on the ground and they've intercepted seven passes. Senior safety Pop Bush from Florida has two picks, three pass breakups, three tackles for loss and a sack. Junior linebacker Gunner Gibson is 6'3", 240 pounds with 3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss.
"We got to make sure we secure the ball and don't make those mistakes," Narduzzi said. "Make sure defensively that we get them. That's the difference in the Tennessee game. Those are differences in every game."
"If a team can come into Heinz Field and not turn the ball over on us. If we turn it over, we have a chance to lose."
Kickoff speech
Given the described lack of emotion from his team last week. Narduzzi said of what he will say to the team pregame.
"The message is there has to be a lot of energy," Narduzzi said. "That was the message last week as well. If you don't have the energy, you better have execution. If you have energy and execution, it's going to be a heck of a day."
"We have to bring our A-game every Saturday. We have to learn how to do that consistently. That's what good football teams do. Championship teams bring energy, bring emotion, play with passion and they execute at the same time."
Izzy Reps
Narduzzi reiterated Thursday sophomore tailback Israel Abanikanda will get reps against the Wildcats Saturday. Abanikanda missed a day of practice last week, which hampered his time to only one carry.
"I expect to rotate those guys heavily this week," Narduzzi said. "I expect Izzy to get an opportunity to show what he's got."
Arguably the most complete back, at least in potential. The Brooklyn native has 20 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown in 2021. That's 43 yards behind the team leader, quarterback Kenny Pickett.
As a freshman, Abanikanda had 95 yards on 28 carries with a couple of receptions.
Scoring quickly
"I want to score," when asked if the team is scoring too quickly. "I don't care how fast or slow it is, just get in the end zone."
