Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi reflects on Michigan State ahead of Peach Bowl
Michigan State fans should have fond memories of Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi. The seventh-year coach of the Panthers spent 11 seasons with former Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio – 3 years at Cincinnati, 8 years with the Spartans – as his defensive coordinator.
During Dantonio and Narduzzi’s run together, Michigan State had four seasons with 11 or more wins, shared and won two Big Ten championships and defeated rival Michigan six out of seven times.
When Michigan State was seeking a replacement for Dantonio in Feb. 2019, Narduzzi was one of the first targets for the Spartan brass. Ultimately, he stayed put at Pittsburgh, and MSU hired Mel Tucker away from Colorado.
That added context makes the Dec. 30 matchup between No. 10 Michigan State and No. 12 Pittsburgh in the Chick-Fil-a Peach Bowl all the more intriguing.
“We couldn't be happier to be in the Chick-Fil-a Peach Bowl and play such a great opponent as Michigan State University, who I've got great knowledge of, that university after spending eight seasons there and winning a few ballgames with Coach Dantonio, who I've got an unbelievable relationship with,” Narduzzi said.
“This is going to be a heck of a ballgame. I think you guys picked two great teams, two top whatever, 15 teams, and obviously Michigan State is at No. 10 in the country and maybe should be even higher than that. It's an honor for our team to be able to go play them down in Atlanta, and we can't wait to get there.”
Obviously, Narduzzi has strong connections with Michigan State, but he didn’t go so far as to say this matchup with the Spartans will be a nostalgic one for him.
“Obviously, we as coaches don't get to play in the game,” Narduzzi said. “We're excited obviously to be in this game. But it's a football game. It doesn't matter who the opponent is. We've got a great opponent. It doesn't matter that I coached there for a few years. That will not play into any role at all. Coach Tucker has got a brand new roster there, and I don't think there's any guys on that roster I know or ever coached. A few guys on the staff, but besides that, there will be no emotions, it's just another football game.”
However, when asked if his prior experience coaching in the Big Ten would be any advantage against Michigan State, Narduzzi felt that it would.
“I think it is. I kind of know Big Ten football a little bit. But football is football. Different players, different colored jerseys, different logos, but football is football. But just kind of where they come from, I think it helps a little bit.”
Narduzzi’s defenses at Michigan State are still discussed around East Lansing. Earning nicknames like, “No Fly Zone” and “Spartans Dawgs”, those defenses were the backbone of the success experienced by Dantonio and his right-hand man.
The now-Pitt head coach said Spartan fans may see some similarities between his current defense and those from his past at MSU.
“I think so. Yeah, I think they'll see -- they'll kind of know what it looks like,” Narduzzi said. “It's the same aggressive style of defense that we had up in East Lansing, and it's kind of what we do. Randy Bates, our defensive coordinator, does a nice job.”
However, this Pittsburgh defense certainly doesn’t live up to the “No Fly Zone” moniker. The Panthers are allowing 257.4 passing yards per game, good enough for 106th out of 130 FBS teams. Pittsburgh is stout against the run, holding opponents to the nation’s sixth-best mark with 91.2 rush yards allowed per game.
Allowing 23.1 points per game (43rd nationally), the Panthers are a solid defensive team, but most of their success has come via the arm of Heisman Trophy contending quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Narduzzi is looking forward to one final game with his ball club, against a familiar opponent in the Spartans.
“Gives us an opportunity for another ballgame. Gives us an opportunity to win 12,” Narduzzi said. “It gives our younger guys an opportunity to get a little bit more practice in, although I think bowl practice nowadays is not much about that as it is just getting prepared for a game. It seems like there's a lot less time to get prepared. The first thing will be focusing on is trying to regain the week of recruiting we lost last week. So we'll be on the road this evening and we'll get recruiting cranked up this week, and then get started next week…on Michigan State.”
