We all missed just how much of a high road Pitt took in the fourth quarter of its 27-17 win over Clemson Saturday.
When Pat Narduzzi took the podium for his Monday press conference this week, he made sure to check off all the normal boxes to congratulate his players for their efforts in the win, praise Miami's playmakers Pitt has to face Saturday, and thank the Pitt fans who packed Heinz Field with more than 60,000 in attendance.
It was a typical Monday Narduzzi press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex until I asked about a quote after the game by Pitt's senior quarterback Damarri Mathis about how good the win felt after Clemson's 52-17 beating of Pitt last year.
"It felt good," Mathis said Saturday at Heinz Field of the win. "Even personally, it felt really good to me. I didn't get to play last year so this was a game that I circled on my calendar. I really wanted to play this game. I didn't like how they did us last year and how arrogant they were. I felt like I played well, our whole team played well, and it was a true team win."
When Narduzzi was asked if there was any build-up because of any arrogance Pitt felt from how Clemson handled its win over the Panthers last year, he didn't shy away from acknowledging it.
"You always have to look back on the past and what's happened," Narduzzi said. "We've always tried to do things with class here. Victory formation is a good formation. It's one of my favorites. It's nice to end the ballgame like that with two minutes to go and no timeouts. Other people decide to do it a different way, but it always comes back to get you. Karma's rough."
For context, Clemson had the ball with Pitt down 52-17 last year with three minutes to go. Not only did Dabo Swinney call three consecutive pass plays with that lead, but then the Tigers got the ball again inside Pitt's five-yard line with less than a minute to go. Instead of taking a knee to end the game, Clemson opted to run the ball, twice. If you need a refresher on how that went, here's my takeaways article from that game.
So when Narduzzi talks about liking victory formation, that's definitely a dig at Swinney and Clemson. But it's also an acknowledgment that when Pitt had the chance to throw salt in the wound, Narduzzi let the victory itself be the form of payback his Panthers served Clemson.
"It doesn't matter, it's 2021," Narduzzi continued. "We have to play our game Saturday and just play football. It was about fundamentals, techniques and doing the little things right so that the big things would take care of themselves. That was the message. It wasn't like, 'hey, payback's a b***h,' or anything like that. It was nothing about payback, but there's always a different feeling from everyone. I'm kind of a payback guy myself."
Narduzzi's point is that Pitt didn't forget what Clemson did last year, but it also didn't let any resentment for those moments from a year ago consume the team's focus in preparation for the week or outlook on how it should finish a game that it's already won.
Saturday's win over Clemson gave Narduzzi his second win over Clemson, making him and Alabama's Nick Saban the only two coaches in college football with multiple wins over Swinney's Tigers since 2015 (both 2-2 vs. Clemson). All other coaches against Clemson during those years have a combined 6-79 record.
• Narduzzi did provide insight on the concussions suffered by Jordan Addison and Israel Abanikanda Saturday that knocked both players out of the game.
"They were nasty hits," Narduzzi said of the hits that knocked them out of the game. "They're real questionable for this week, unfortunately. We'll see. You can't ever project what will happen but we'll protect our kids. We'll see where they are, but I don't make that decision, our trainers and doctors make that decision."
Addison currently leads all FBS programs with ten touchdown receptions on the season. Abanikanda is Pitt's leading rusher with 403 yards on 78 carries with four rushing touchdowns. Missing both could be a big blow to Pitt against Miami, who just beat N.C. State when the Wolfpack was ranked No. 18 in the country.
"I know Jordan wanted to come back in the second half," Narduzzi continued. "He was watching the game with his mother in the locker room. She went to see him in the locker room and she was told she couldn't go in, but she said, 'I'm going to go see my boy.' But when he wanted to go back in, she told him, 'no you aren't!' So, we're going to protect our guys."
