Pat Narduzzi says there's 'no way' Pittsburgh can win a shootout with North Carolina

After winning the ACC on the back of a fantastic passing attack in 2021, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi saw his program change. Quarterback Kenny Pickett went to the NFL, wide receiver Jordan Addison transferred, and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple moved over to Nebraska. Replacing them was always going to be difficult and purely from a production standpoint, Pitt hasn’t been able to do so.

Pitt’s next opponent, North Carolina, has had no such problems producing on offense. Pat Narduzzi knows that the Panthers need to find a way to control the Tar Heels because Pitt won’t be able to keep up if the game becomes a shootout.

“No way,” Pat Narduzzi said. “You tell me. I mean, I hope so.”

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Pitt is coming off a bad loss to Louisville where the offense only scored 10 points. They also had four turnovers. So, Pat Narduzzi thinks his team can compete with North Carolina if they play a cleaner game. They just can’t allow that game to become a shootout.

“Hey, we’re gonna compete every–I mean, we get to go play a ranked team on the road, at night again, prime time, and probably gonna do it the next week after. But, you know, I think we can compete. I think our kids believe, and we just gotta go play better. Just don’t turn the ball over and you’ve got a chance.”

A reporter then asked a clarifying question. Is Pitt going to actively avoid the shootout by trying to control the clock, or can they still compete if it becomes a shootout?

“I don’t know what it’s gonna be. If I knew that, we’d maybe change our gameplan right now,” Pat Narduzzi said. “But, we want our defense to play really good. We don’t want to give up a lot of points, and we want to score one more point than they do. And right now, the gameplan changed. If it’s 21-0 in the first quarter, and we’re down, the gameplan changes a little bit.”

Pat Narduzzi insisted that the Panthers will have a plan if something goes wrong, but, for now, they’re thinking more positively than that.