Pitt QB Christian Veilleux Takes Blame After Notre Dame Loss
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' offense doesn't have much to hang their hat on following a poor performance against Notre Dame in which they scored just seven points while turning the ball over four times.
The carelessness with the ball marked uncharted territory for Christian Veilleux, who accounted for all four turnovers via interception after not doing so in either of his first two starts this season.
Veilleux took the brunt of the blame following Saturday's game, stating that he didn't feel like himself and made too many errors that he will learn from moving forward.
"Just didn’t feel like myself. Didn’t play the type of football, the level of football that I want to play and I want to showcase. Definitely got to go back and watch the film. Just made too many mistakes out there today. A lot of it I should’ve either taken a sack or scrambled. It’s all on me. I take full responsibility for it, but just got to move on, get better and learn," Veilleux said.
Veilleux accredited some of his struggles to mechanical inconsistencies and a lack of decisiveness in the pocket.
"Early on in the game, I was kind of rushed and my footwork wasn’t matching up either my eyes or my progression. I definitely feel like I could’ve calmed down and done a lot of things better. The four interceptions are all on me. Definitely plays I could’ve made, either another progression or scrambling or something like that. I think it’s just about getting back to who I am," Veilleux said.
Pat Narduzzi stated that he believes there were instances in which the offense could've put something together, but that some of the details appeared to be a bit off.
"You see a couple of them out there and I don’t know if it’s exactly the routes and the quarterback just throwing it where it’s not supposed to be. We’ll see the details there and probably have a better answer on Monday. We had opportunities," Narduzzi said.
Veilleux also further hammered home the point that that he can learn from his mistakes and gradually improve as a result.
"You just gotta learn from it. You gotta watch the film. You gotta really understand where you went wrong, what you can do and then implement it in practice. I’m excited for the opportunity next week. I’m excited to build off of this. Just one step ahead every single day,” Veilleux stated.
Veilleux was appreciative of his teammates support as well and took solace in the fact that they have his back and will continue to battle together.
"All the guys on the sideline, they had my back. Obviously, I felt terrible. I felt like it was on me today that our offense wasn’t producing. I know the guys have my back. I know we’re all focused on next week. There’s no quit in this team. Super excited to attack next week with these guys, and I wouldn’t trade this roster with any other roster in the country," Veilleux said.
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