Pat Narduzzi told reporters on Monday that effort wasn’t the issue in his team’s 26-21 loss to Georgia Tech Saturday evening. The Pitt head coach cited issues with “knowledge and details” as to why his team fell at home to a 22-point underdog.
While his words were possibly meant to take blame away from the Panthers players in the loss, some of the the more prominent names on Pitt’s squad had another way of framing the debacle — taking no measures to hide their embarrassment.
“We all know it’s a game we should’ve won,” Calijah Kancey told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “Georgia Tech wanted it more than us, and I think we learned from that.”
Pitt fans and players alike are more than used to the feeling that Saturday night provided. Ironically enough, it’s the familiarity with disappointing losses that Pitt is leaning on to turn things around.
Even in a year like last season, which ended in a conference championship, the Panthers succumbed to their annual tradition of “Pitting,” losing 44-41 at home to Western Michigan. And though the feeling of that defeat still stings, many of the returning players from last year’s squad believe that it’s how the group responded from the Western Michigan fiasco that helped sparked a magical run in ACC play.
Sitting at 0-1 in conference play, the Panthers will look to not only lick their wounds, but grow stronger from them.
“It’s a similar feeling,” Jared Wayne said. “Obviously, any loss is tough, and if you don’t learn from it, then that’s not a good thing. That’s all we’re looking to do this week is bounce back.”
Last fall, the Panthers’ bounce back started with a players-only meeting called by quarterback and captain Kenny Pickett. So far, there has been no word of a meeting like this taking place in 2022. However, there has been talk of extra measures being taken.
Wayne mentioned that he and fellow receiver Jaden Bradley were at the facility Tuesday evening until 9 p.m., reviewing film and taking an extra look over the game plan. Numerous players and coaches have made the claim that there has been a different feel during this week of practice.
The collective feeling seems to be that there is no more leeway for errors or miscues. This is the week things have to be corrected.
“I think it was coach Narduzzi that said Sunday, ‘Georgia Tech woke up a beast,’” Gavin Bartholomew said. “They’re going to see a ticked off team ready to go on Saturday. We’re excited. We’re ready to roll.”
So what does a “ticked off team” look like for Pitt? At this moment, it’s hard to tell. Narduzzi made similar claims last week, saying his team looked like his team had a “different vibe” heading into ACC play. Perhaps the difference entering its battle against Virginia Tech is there is no longer a need to manufacture extra motivation. The Panthers know that at 3-2, they still have something to prove.
“That’s exactly how we’re looking at it,” Wayne said. “We still have our best football to play. I think that will come throughout the rest of the season.”
