Not only did Pat Narduzzi admit he and his staff were “outcoached” in Pitt’s 44-41 loss to Western Michigan on Saturday, he also received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter.
Asked about it after the game, he said, “It was so long ago I don’t remember. It was about a communication error where they didn’t communicate. It was stupid on my part.”
Then, he made a reference to “MAC officials. I don’t know. Never seen some of the things that got called out there.”
When he was reminded quarterback Kenny Pickett was kicked in the head two plays before his penalty, he remembered. Initially, officials threw a flag and then picked it up (believing the kick was accidental).
“That’s what it was, thank you very much,” he said. “Yeah, the quarterback got hit, they throw a flag. Same thing happened last week (at Tennessee), and they picked it up. I don’t get it. And there’s no communication, as well.”
Pitt was penalized eight times for 82 yards. Western Michigan drew 11 flags for 117.
A new center
Narduzzi made a significant personnel move in the second quarter after a high snap from center led to a lost fumble and a 9-yard scoring drive for Western Michigan.
Center Owen Drexel was replaced by right guard Jake Kradel, and Keldrick Wilson moved to right guard.
Asked about it, Narduzzi only said, “Owen was out so we moved Kradel in and moved Keldrick Wilson to guard.”
By the numbers
Pitt’s 41 points were the most it has scored in a loss since losing to Duke, 51-48, in double overtime in 2014. … Pitt has scored 40 or more points in its first three games for the first time in history. … Pickett has a career total of 8,923 passing yards, moving into second place ahead of Tino Sunseri and Dan Marino on Pitt’s all-time list. Next up is the leader, Alex Van Pelt, with a total of 11,267. He can pass Van Pelt by averaging 260.5 over the final nine games. He is averaging 313 at the moment. … Jordan Addison’s three touchdown receptions are the most by a Pitt player since Tyler Boyd had three against Duke in 2013. … Tight end Lucas Krull has a touchdown catch in three consecutive games. That hasn’t happened at Pitt since Dorin Dickerson had a five-game streak in 2009.
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
