Pat Narduzzi’s Newfound Aggressiveness is Reason Behind Week Four Win

After taking some risks in their Week Four upset of UCF, Pitt Head Coach Pat Narduzzi needs to keep the momentum going.

Just a week ago, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi took his fair share of criticism after his conservative play-calling may have cost his team a chance at victory against Penn State. Fast-forward to Week Four, and it’s evident that Narduzzi took that criticism to heart and decided to make a change. In using the “Philly Special” to beat UCF, Narduzzi finally trusted his team, and they rewarded him with a huge win.Going against a team that had won 25 straight regular-season games, Pitt was a clear underdog going into the matchup. Once the game started, however, it was a different story. Pitt’s defense made some huge plays and the offense, led by quarterback Kenny Pickett, was able to push around a talented UCF defense.

The best part of this game for Pitt however, was their determination to pull out the win. After UCF came back to erase Pitt’s fast start, nobody would have been surprised if Pitt lost this game to their talented opponent. Instead, Narduzzi rallied his troops and showed that he is capable of taking risks with his play-calling. Last week Narduzzi played like he was scared to lose; this week, he played to win.

Narduzzi’s continued aggressiveness is crucial for this team to keep the momentum moving forward. With a feisty defense and a quarterback in Pickett that has shown massive improvement since last season, the talent is there for this team to be surprisingly good. After this type of rebound win, it would be foolish to bet against Pitt. Narduzzi finally got his swagger back and Pitt is much more dangerous because of that.