As Pitt prepares to face Central Michigan at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, head coach Pat Narduzzi is working to prevent a significant upset. The Panthers are favored by more than three touchdowns, but Narduzzi is cautioning his team against complacency, a lesson learned from past experiences.
“I tell our guys all the time, you just can’t throw your helmet on and think you’re going to win any football game,” Narduzzi said. “I don’t care who it is.”
This warning is rooted in history, particularly the team’s stunning 44-41 home loss to Western Michigan, another Mid-American Conference opponent, during the 2021 season. While that team rebounded to win an ACC championship, Narduzzi understands the danger of underestimating an opponent.
With the highly anticipated Backyard Brawl against West Virginia looming next week, the potential for distraction is high. However, Narduzzi is confident his players are focused on the immediate challenge.
“I think our guys are pretty good through our history of locking in for one game,” he said, referencing the successful 2021 campaign. “Sometimes, it’s a good wake-up call for you, too. Central Michigan’s a good football team. They’re a better football team than we faced a week ago, and they’ll pose challenges.”
The primary challenge comes from the Chippewas’ distinctive offense, which coach Matt Drinkall operates with three quarterbacks in a run-heavy scheme featuring multiple tight ends.
“It’s just heavy personnel,” Narduzzi explained. “Two tight ends, three tight ends, four tight ends in the game at one time instead of a bunch of wideouts… they’ve just got a bunch of different, big personnel groupings that we’ll have to be prepared for.”
While Narduzzi’s staff is familiar with such formations, he noted it’s a new look for his players after a month of preseason camp focused on different schemes.
Defensively, Pitt aims to eliminate the explosive pass plays that have been a recent concern. In their season-opening 61-9 victory over Duquesne, the Panthers’ defense allowed receiver Joey Isabella to accumulate 120 yards, including catches of 59 and 30 yards. Although not all of that production came against the first-team unit, it highlighted a vulnerability.
Central Michigan demonstrated its big-play capability in its opening win against San Jose State when receiver Tommy McIntosh caught a 47-yard pass. Narduzzi stressed that preventing similar plays will require discipline from his secondary.
“It’s eye control,” he said. “They’re going to try to lull you to sleep and pop one on you… It’s a heavy run look and also the tight ends slip out somewhere. It’s just eye control out of the safeties, making sure that tight end, did he block? If he didn’t block, then it’s, ‘Where’s the ball?’”
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