EL PASO, Texas -- As fate would have it, the flights to El Paso for quarterback Jake Frantl, defensive end Samuel Okunlola, and defensive back Hudson Primus were canceled out of Dallas, and they had to scramble in order to get to El Paso, Texas, for the Sun Bowl. Frantl connected to Dallas from Milwaukee, Okunlola from Massachusetts, and Primus from Washington, D.C. All three had the same eventually canceled flight (in an unplanned manner) from Dallas to El Paso on Sunday.
Pitt flew out as a team from Pittsburgh to El Paso on Christmas Day, but some Panthers were across the country visiting their families for their holiday breaks and were to fly to El Paso themselves on Sunday, in advance of Monday's meetings and practice. This included Frantl, Okunlola, and Primus, who had to scramble to get to work by Monday morning.
Right place, right time for the three to get stuck. As Frantl told me Wednesday over the phone, the stars aligned for them in the unlikeliest way.
"The couple in front of us, they see our bags, and we tell them the scenario that we're in, and he's like, 'well, hey, I'm actually the basketball coach at UTEP. Why don't we get a big SUV and we'll all drive down together?' And we were like, 'yeah, let's do it,'" Frantl told me.
That man was Joe Golding, the head men's basketball coach at the University of Texas-El Paso. He and his family -- wife, Amanda, and their two kids -- offered a deed that is nearly unheard of in today's day and age.
Call it a Christmas miracle.
Flights were impossible to rebook in time, so the three made their way to the airport's rental car hub. While the three were in line to try to rent a car -- neither of the three are over the age of 25, so who knows what success they would have had -- to make the nine-plus hour drive from Dallas to El Paso, Joe Golding spotted their Pitt-branded bags and struck up a conversation.
"It was awesome to get to know his family," Frantl added. "Just a kid-hearted group of people that we met. A Christmas miracle."
Social media first learned of this act from Pat Narduzzi, who took time out of his media briefing on Monday to thank Joe Golding for the act.
"The hospitality, like always, is outstanding," Narduzzi said. "And I'm going to add to the hospitality, OK, yesterday afternoon we had a couple of guys get delayed on our flights. They got suck in Dallas. Joe Golding, head basketball coach for Texas-El Paso here in town, him and his wife and child, they picked up and took our three guys and drove them because their flight was delayed to get them here for practice. They got here late last night, and I just want to give a shout out to those guys. Again, it just goes back to the hospitality. Great job by Joe, and we appreciate it. It's a blessing."
Golding is related to some college football prominence. His brother-in-law is Sonny Dykes, the 2022 Associated Press Coach of the Year from TCU.
"We instantly had the sports connection, the football connection, and so that's what really got things rolling," Frantl told me. "We just became comfortable, and at the end of the trip, they felt like family."
Golding told KTSM-TV in El Paso that he didn't think twice about doing it. Frantl told me there was "absolutely no hesitation" from the Goldings.
"I would hope somebody would do that to (my kids) one time if they were stranded on Christmas night and they had somewhere and needed a ride home," Joe Golding said.
Said Frantl: "They're just kind-hearted people, and that's what Christmas is about and life is about in general. People helping people and giving back to people when you can."
Golding told KTSM that the trip included one stop for coffee and energy drinks. Frantl told me the group left Dallas around 9 p.m. Sunday night and got to El Paso between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. Monday.
"I actually got to learn their story and learn a little bit about them and their football program and educate them on UTEP and our basketball program," Golding said in a video sent to me via UTEP athletics, "and in a weird sense, in a nine-hour drive, you become really close. We spent a lot of time together. We'll see. I think those three guys and my family, we'll stay in touch for a long time."
My family and I were blessed to give a ride to Samuel, Jake,and Hudson. They were terrific young men that represented Pitt football in a first class manner. I educated them on West Texas, they educated me on Pitt football and Stack’d burgers! I’m a Pitt football fan now! https://t.co/assHQx1RhL
— Joe Golding (@CoachJoeGolding) December 26, 2022
FINISHING STRONG
It was not the season we talked about in August, but it can still be a pretty solid one with a solid finish in December.
No, Pitt did not repeat as ACC champion. It did not win the Coastal Division. It did not even achieve a 10-win season, nor can it with a win over No. 18 UCLA in Friday's Sun Bowl.
But, let's keep some perspective.
One has to consider where the Panthers' program was at just a handful of years ago, and the work which Narduzzi and his evolving staff had to put into after four seasons of mediocrity at Pitt with a combination of Paul Chryst, interim Joe Rudolph, Todd Graham, and interim Keith Patterson leading the program. Narduzzi -- eight years ago to the date on Monday -- inherited a Panthers program which posted a 25-27 overall record under those four coaches.
Narduzzi is now the second-winningest coach in the program's history, having passed Pop Warner's 60 victories with a dominant win over Miami to close the regular season shortly after Thanksgiving. Narduzzi has recorded just one losing season in his eight, and he has won eight or more games five times.
A win over UCLA in Friday's Sun Bowl would give Narduzzi and the Panthers a 9-4 record to close the season, which would be the second-highest win total he would achieve in his eight seasons. Narduzzi is the fourth-longest-tenured head coach in he ACC (fifth, if you want to factor in Mack Brown's stint at North Carolina from 1988-1997), and since his arrival at Pitt, the minimal two things he has brought to the table are the minimal two things a college football program needs to survive: A winning culture and stability.
So, in keeping perspective, an eight- or a nine-win season is still a good season by many standards. While Pitt has not yet made it to a College Football Playoff under Narduzzi, Pitt has been a relatively successful and, perhaps most important, stable college football program under him.
Put it this way: Four head coaches in the ACC entered their first years with their respective programs in 2022: Mario Cristobal at Miami, Tony Elliott at Virginia, Mike Elko at Duke, and Brent Pry at Virginia Tech. Two schools will enter 2023 under new head coaches: Louisville (Jeff Brohm, replacing Scott Satterfield) and Georgia Tech (Brent Key, replacing Geoff Collins).
Add it up, and that is six of the 14 programs in the ACC which will enter 2023 with either a first- or second-year coach. The combined record of those six schools in 2022 was 31-38 overall and 18-28 within the ACC. Five of those six programs, Louisville being the exception, are in the Coastal Division alongside Pitt.
While it may not show up in recent recruiting - Pitt's 2023 class is ranked ninth in the ACC on 247Sports, and the 2022 class was ranked last in the ACC -- Narduzzi has a knack for developing players. Twenty Panthers have been drafted to the NFL over Narduzzi's eight years, including six in 2021 and with former three-star recruit Kenny Pickett (2022) being the Panthers' first first-round pick since Aaron Donald (2014) and the first Panthers quarterback taken in the first round since Dan Marino (1983). Plenty more are expected to be taken in the 2023 draft, if not minimally signed as free agents, including SirVocea Dennis, a former two-star who developed into the best linebacker Narduzzi has coached at Pitt, and Israel Abanikanda, a former three-star who led the ACC in rushing this season.
For as long as Narduzzi will be at Pitt, the program will be a hub for players to develop into NFL-caliber talent. Which, at the core of college football, is a good product to sell to future recruits. The 2023 class does not have a four-star recruit, but for Pitt that might not necessarily be a bad thing. Three-star inebacker Jordan Bass could be another feather in Narduzzi's cap when it's all said and done, and some four-stars recently pulled in can still develop and be NFL-caliber players, like former four-star offensive tackle Ryan Baer, the top-rated recruit in Narduzzi's 2022 class.
Pitt Athletics
Pat Narduzzi during Sun Bowl practice this week in El Paso, Texas.
GAME PREDICTION
You asked for it. You got it.
If you read my matchup preview from Tuesday, you might have noted that I'm higher on this matchup for Pitt than most might be. I can understand why one might be hesitant to think Pitt could win (or cover the spread) against the No. 18-ranked Bruins. The Panthers will roll in with backups starting at quarterback, running back, both offensive tackle spots, defensive end, defensive tackle (unanimous All-American Calijah Kancey is injured), middle linebacker, and strong safety. That is a lot to replace.
But, I still think the Panthers can match up with the Bruins and keep it closer than the experts think for a good chunk of the game. All-American running back Zach Charbonnet will need to be keyed, as will dual-threat quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who drew a comparison from Narduzzi to Louisville's Malik Cunningham. Ultimately, though, I think this could come down to whether Pitt can run the ball effectively or not. UCLA was 30th in Football Bowl Subdivision in stopping the run, and this will be the toughest front seven the Panthers have seen all season. Nick Patti will need a lot of breathing room in the pocket to have success with a depleted receivers room, and if Pitt cannot run the ball as effectively as it has this season, those chances for Patti decrease.
• Final score: UCLA 28, Pitt 20.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Who: Pitt (8-4, 5-3 ACC) vs. No. 18 UCLA (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12)
• When: Friday, 2 p.m. (noon local)
• Where: Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas
• Spread: UCLA by 5.5
• Weather: 61°, Partly cloudy, 17% chance of rain, 14 mph. winds
• TV: CBS (KDKA)
• TV broadcasters: Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst), Jenny Dell (reporter)
• Radio: 93.7 The Fan, 92.1 WPTS-FM (Pitt student broadcast)
• The Fan broadcasters: Jeff Hathhorn (play-by-play), Pat Bostick (analyst), Larry Richert (reporter), Dorin Dickerson (reporter).
• Streaming: Paramount Plus
• Satellite: SiriusXM channel 194, SXM App channel 956
• Box score: Stat Broadcast
• Media notes: Pitt / UCLA
TEN TO WATCH
• #5 Jared Wayne -- He will have to be Patti's top weapon and perhaps the Pitt offense's top threat on Friday. Wayne is coming off of a career day against Miami, in which he caught 11 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the fifth unique Pitt receiver to ever achieve a 200-yard receiving game. (The other four: Dietrich Jells, Antonio Bryant, Larry Fitzgerald, and Jordan Addison. Bryant had three games of 200-plus receiving yards, and Fitzgerald had two.)
• #6 Rodney Hammond Jr. -- No Abanikanda (opt-out) means Hammond will be called upon for the bulk of the work at running back. Hammond's best game this season came Nov. 5 against Syracuse, in which he rushed 28 times for 124 yards and a touchdown. In the Backyard Brawl to open the season, Hammond broke out for 74 yards on 16 carries with two scores and added 55 receiving yards on two catches. The tough UCLA front seven will be a tough task to uphold for Hammond, Vincent Davis, and C'Bo Flemister.
"I've been prepared; I did it before," Hammond said this week. "It's nothing new. Everybody in the room could start."
• #10 Tylar Wiltz -- Playing in his final game as a college football player, Wiltz finished his regular season on a strong note at Miami with a season-high eight total tackles, 1.5 for loss, and a sack. The Missouri State transfer has seen an uptick of playing time over the second half of the season and will be a vital part in stopping the Pac-12 rushing champion Charbonnet.
• #12 Nick Patti -- No Kedon Slovis means Patti gets the nod at quarterback in his final game as a Panther. You can read more about Patti reprising his role from the 2021 Peach Bowl as the starter in my feature from earlier in the week.
• #20 Javon McIntyre -- No Brandon Hill (opt-out) at safety means McIntyre will start alongside Erick Hallett II. McIntyre caught his first career interception in the final week against the Hurricanes and is in position to earn a starting spot within the Pitt secondary in 2023, with Hill and Hallett moving on to the NFL and former Peters Township star Donovan McMillon transferring in from Florida.
• #22 PJ O'Brien Jr. -- Expect O'Brien, a mainstay on the Panthers' special teams units this season, to see some playing time in the secondary, as well, particularly in spelling McIntyre at safety. O'Brien profiles as a fast and twitchy cover safety, which could serve as a complement to Hallett.
• #31 Erick Hallett II -- Hallett deserves his flowers in his final game as a Panther. Hallett profiled as a three-star recruit out of Cypress, Texas, in the Houston area, and chose Pitt among 26 total offers. Hallett was the MVP of the 2021 ACC Championship Game after his two interceptions and one returned for a touchdown. In his career, Hallett amassed 163 total tackles, 7.5 for loss, with eight interceptions and 32 passes defended. He recorded three interceptions in each of his last two seasons. In 2022, he was an All-ACC selection, a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, and was named a second-team All-American by the Football Writer's Association of America.
• #32 Shayne Simon -- The veteran will take over as the Panthers' middle linebacker in place of Dennis (opt-out). The Notre Dame transfer has registered 40 total tackles, 4.5 for loss, and 2.0 sacks and has broken up six passes this season. Simon has posted at least one tackle for loss in three of his last four games.
• #86 Gavin Bartholomew -- Will this be the breakout game? It would be fitting for Bartholomew, who has prior connections with Patti and can serve as a solid security blanket in short and intermediate routes. Over his last five games, Bartholomew has caught just four passes for 31 yards. He did not record a catch in two of those games. His season-best mark in receiving was the five-catch, 84-yard performance with the highlight-reel touchdown against Tennessee.
• #90 Ben Sauls -- Special teams could be the difference in this game, and Sauls has been steady over the latter portion of the season. He has missed just one field goal attempt over his last nine games -- an inconsequential 54-yard try at Virginia. Sauls is 15-for-19 on field goals with a long make of 51 yards this season.
