Pat Narduzzi Brushes Off Pitt Panthers’ Historic Struggles in Miami
PITTSBURGH — South Florida has become the unfriendliest of confines for the Pitt Panthers ever since head coach Pat Narduzzi’s first year in 2015.
Narduzzi is 1-6 against the Maimi Hurricanes during his tenure at Pitt, with those half-dozen defeats coming by an average of 11.5 points. His lone victory come in the form of a landmark upset over the then-No. 2 Hurricanes in Kenny Pickett’s first career start. But that was at home, meaning the Panthers haven’t won on the road against this squad since Paul Chryst’s final season in the Steel City.
Despite his track record in South Beach, Narduzzi is not worried about having to make the longest road trip his team will take to any ACC school, saying the result always to comes down more to Pitt’s own play than the opponent or setting.
“It’s like anything, I don’t think it has to do with who and where,” Narduzzi said. “I think it comes down to how we play and how we execute. We got to go down there focused and locked in. And again, I don’t care if we play in Pittsburgh in one-degree weather or down there in 70-degree weather – we got to go down and execute.”
Weather will be a factor. The forecast calls for bright sunshine, 80-degree temperatures and no precipitation – a start difference from sub-freezing and snowy Pittsburgh – when the Panthers and Hurricanes meet, so Pitt will practice all week indoors with the thermostat turned up.
“We will be inside, there’s no question,” Narduzzi said. “We always turn the heat up to 70 degrees in there and try to get it heated up and get ready for the acclimation down in Miami.”
Narduzzi doesn’t want to overestimate the challenge of playing down south, however. He reiterated that the difference between a win and loss will lie in his team’s own attitude, preparation, focus and execution when it is all said and done. The past is just that – bygone events that have no bearing on the game played in 2022.
“We got to not make mistakes and go play, so what happened in the past really doesn’t matter,” Narduzzi said. “I know you guys will always go back to what happened in the past but the past really doesn’t matter. It’s not going to impact this game at all unless it’s in your head. But it’s not going to be in our heads or our kids’ heads.”
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