Pitt Take 5: Youngstown State game matters to Pat Narduzzi on team, personal levels

If you’re unaware of the historical significance of Pitt’s game against Youngstown State on Saturday, here is what’s at stake:

This game between a Power 4 school and one from the FCS matters because Pitt can nail down its first undefeated, multi-game, nonconference season and start 4-0 for the first time since 2000.

(Apropos to nothing, that 2000 team played its home games at Three Rivers Stadium while Heinz Field was being built and lost five of its final eight games.)

Quarterback Eli Holstein has lived in Pittsburgh less than a year, but he gets it.

“We have a chance to make history. That’s a big point,” he said. “We can’t approach this game as a tuneup game. It’s a big deal for us. We need to go out there with the same intensity we had against West Virginia.”

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi and some players have spoken as if the Panthers are coming off a loss, and for good reason. Pitt’s defense sprung far too many leaks against WVU and Cincinnati, at least for a team with championship aspirations. Offense needs to develop consistency, too.

“We’re approaching this week as a game to put four quarters together,” Holstein said. “We still feel like we haven’t done that. Every game, we’ve left at least three touchdowns out there.”

In the meantime, here are five thoughts while awaiting the 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Acrisure Stadium.

1. It’s personal

Narduzzi played at Youngstown State under his father, Bill Narduzzi, who was fired after his son’s only season there. Given that family history, the game matters to him on a personal level, too.

“There’s no question about it. I grew up there,” he said.

When he was in grade school, Narduzzi was a ball boy for his dad (and he has video on his phone to prove it).

“That was in my blood. That’s kind of why I’m a coach. Dad was your hero. I mean, yeah, it’s significant.”

Pitt athletics

Bill Narduzzi, pictured with his son Pat Narduzzi, coached football at Youngstown State from 1975-85 and is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame.

2. Playing keep-away

Youngstown, ranked No. 25 in FCS, is disproving the long-held notion that playing keep-away with the football leads to a winning record.

With an offensive line that has totaled 125 career starts and quarterback Beau Brungard’s affinity to tuck and run, YSU (1-2) leads the FCS in time of possession (tied with North Dakota), with an average of 37 minutes per game. The Penguins held the ball for 42 minutes, 17 seconds against Duquesne and still lost 28-25.

“They’re going to try to possess the ball, play keep-away with us,” Narduzzi said. “We’re probably last in the country in time of possession because we haven’t had the ball.

“It’s not life or death. We score a lot of points when we have it.”

Narduzzi is wrong about his team’s TOP standing, but he’s close. Pitt is 125th of 133 schools, averaging only 24:57. The Panthers are 23rd in scoring (40.3 points per game) and third in the ACC behind Louisville and Miami.

Pitt is favored by 25 1/2 points, and the Panthers are a good bet to win this one easily. Can you imagine Pitt losing to a team that lost to Duquesne the previous week?

3. YSU has been formidable foe

Pitt and Youngstown State have met only five times, and the most recent three meetings have turned into two difficult victories and one embarrassing loss for the Panthers.

Remember: Paul Chryst’s first game as Pitt coach in 2012 was scarred by the suspension of six players shortly before kickoff. Youngstown State won 31-17.

Narduzzi is 2-0 against the Penguins, but the scores were 45-37 in 2015 and 28-21 in overtime in 2017.

YSU’s leading receiver is junior Max Tomczak, nephew of former Steelers quarterback Mike Tomczak, now an adviser to coach Doug Phillips. Tomczak needs four receptions and 3 yards to reach 100 and 1,300 for his career.

4. Third-down failures

Pitt converted nine of 16 third downs against Kent State, but the Panthers struggled against Cincinnati and West Virginia.

In a stat that often determines outcomes of games, Pitt turned only five of 19 third downs into first downs.

Wide receivers coach J.J. Laster pointed to the need for attention to detail, understanding alignments and knowing that defenses like to get “exotic” on third down.

5. Brawl on the mat?

Strong safety Donovan McMillon’s phone was not only buzzing with congratulatory text messages after the victory against West Virginia, but he also received a couple of friendly challenges from his former life as a wrestler at Peters Township.

First, he heard from Rune Lawrence, a four-time WPIAL and PIAA champion wrestler from Frazier. Lawrence is a freshman at West Virginia and McMillon’s former training partner.

McMillon said Lawrence told him, “We are going to have to settle this on the mat one day.”

A WPIAL and PIAA runner-up at 182 pounds, McMillon told him, “I don’t know if I can do that anymore.”

Next up was Sam Hillegas, a North Hills graduate and a two-time WPIAL and PIAA champion. He will be a fifth-year senior at WVU this winter. McMillon said Hillegas beat him in high school.

“He’s a good wrestler, for sure. I told him I could take him out now, though,” McMillon said, with a smile.

Asked what gives him a greater thrill, an open-field tackle or a takedown in wrestling, McMillon said choosing the football play is a no-brainer.

“Just because I love the game,” he said. “I haven’t been on a mat in years.”

He’s also pretty good at this football thing.

He recorded 105 tackles last season, the most by a Pitt player since Jordan Whitehead had 109 in 2015. Currently, he leads the team with 32 on a stat line that includes two pass breakups, a forced fumble and interception. He is the reigning ACC Defensive Back of the Week.

McMillon, a safety with heavy run responsibilities, has been busy. Pitt opponents have run 120 plays on the ground and 96 through the air. Youngstown State’s run/pass ratio is 128/70.

“I love the mental part (scheming against ground games),” he said. “The physical part of it, my body (says), ‘Aw, c’mon.’

“But I love running teams. If there’s a guy there, I’m going to tackle him. It’s always fun having a lot of tackles, but I just like being around the ball.”