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UNIVERSITY PARK – Pat Narduzzi dared to defend a decision that defies logic with an inexplicable explanation.
Pitt's coach had his Panthers in the perfect position to thwart Penn State, No. 13: at seven points from the end, they scored one goal and four goals in 1 with 4 minutes and 59 seconds left in the fourth quarter .
A touchdown and an extra point would have equalized the score.
Instead, Narduzzi sent his goal unit to the field, only to see Alex Kessman's 19-yard goal attempt bounce off the left post. The crowd of 108,661 spectators at Beaver Stadium, who had fallen silent, applauded and the group played.
"I wanted to play to win the football match," Narduzzi said. "It's a two-player match, as we have to score twice to win the football match.
"I do not dispute this decision at all, really."
Narduzzi is alone there.
When we remember the 100th and final match in the Pitt-Penn State rivalry – a 17-10 win for the Nittany Lions on Saturday afternoon – we will remember Journey Brown's 85-yard, 57-yard run. yards of Jordan Stout's school record. The career match of Kenny Pickett and his Hail Mary who landed in the end zone at the end of the allotted time.
Above all, let's talk about Narduzzi's call.
"We could have gone without having it," Narduzzi said. "I thought if we scored a goal on the pitch, it would be a two-player match. We need two partitions. A field placement is a good game, so you can come back and score again.
"You can go back and question the fourth and one: let yourself go or not. If we go there and we do not have it, it's like, "Why did not you shoot the basket?" You still need two scores to win a football match. That's what really matters. "
In the end, Narduzzi did not trust his Panthers to flee the 1. He noted the anemic totals of a program that stood as a RBU not so long ago: 24 yards in 25 races. He failed to mention that running back Vincent Davis had scored on a three-yard run in the second quarter.
"We can look at all the calls made, guys," said Narduzzi. "Every quarterback of the chairs, you have all these offices, so it's easy to make those decisions. We were throwing the ball – we thrown more than 300 yards – and felt like we had open games. "
That's true. Pickett was as good as we saw him. Pitt's junior quarterback completed 35 of his 51 passes for a total of 372 yards – career highs – and had just sent a perfect pass to Taysir Mack on the 1-yard touchdown line, so close from the touchdown that he flipped the camera over the pylon.
At first goal, Pickett rolled under pressure from Cam Brown and pitched in incomplete. On the second run, Pickett ran a play-action bootleg and was lifted by safety Garrett Taylor. On the third run, Pickett escaped the pocket with Brown on his heels but missed an open A.J. Davis in the end zone.
Do you think Pickett wanted to go fourth?
"As a competitor," said Pickett, "you will always want to."
Instead, Narduzzi pulled the ball out of the hands of his best player – even Pickett called it "tough" – and played it safe when he should have passed for the jugular.
The Panthers were 17-point underdogs at Penn State and had the chance to score equal or take the lead. The rule is this: you are aiming for victory on the road. Everyone knows that. Instead, Narduzzi chose to take three points, and that went against the worst.
"When you're able to stop someone on the one-meter line, roll him back and, of course, miss the goal," Penn State coach said. , James Franklin, "It's important in the game."
Obviously, the missed opportunity marked a turning point.
"It takes two scores to win the football match, unless you want to play in overtime," said Narduzzi disdainfully. "We are trying to win a football match, so …"
It was pointed out that Pitt could have scored a touchdown and played to win in overtime or earn a two-point conversion to take the lead and make a match in a possession. That would have put pressure on Penn State for it to score in the last five minutes. Maybe Narduzzi was frightened by Stout's stout leg.
The worst thing is that even though Pitt was stopped in the fourth and late in the game, Penn State would have taken control of the first goal. Instead, the Nittany Lions automatically got the ball after 20: 4: 54 left.
The Panthers were up, their defense having forced a punt. Pickett had another chance with 1:56 to go, going from the Panthers '16 to the Penn State 26 in 10 games and converting a fourth and 12 assists into Mack. If Pitt had tied his goal on that goal and goals, the Panthers could have won with a goal.
"A defeat like this is difficult," said Pickett. "It's a hard pill to swallow."
That should make Pitt gag: He was 3 for 3 on the fourth downs.
Not that Narduzzi was going to guess his call. He not only defended his decision, but doubled.
"In the end, it's my calling," said Narduzzi. "You can blame me for everything. It's my fault. "
Narduzzi does not sound like he was going to lose sleep because of that.
"It's not going to last at all, guys," Narduzzi said. "That's it.It's tough, a tough call.You score a goal on the field, you get a collected drive and you fall and score a touchdown and you win by three." we hope to score, you have to score more than 10 points to win a football game. "
That's what you should expect when you play four Penn State 1's, and not so illogical a call that it was inexplicable – and one that Pitt will wear indefinitely.
Kevin Gorman is a writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Kevin by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .