UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 30, 2021

Pat Narduzzi

Press Conference

Miami 38, Pittsburgh 34

PAT NARDUZZI: Obviously a disappointing game. I thought our kids played their tails off. Didn't keep their composure at times, which we've got to do, and you know, just a tough game.

They made one more play than we did. I thought they played hard. We lost the turnover margin by one, minus 1, probably the difference in the game. We only had one turnover. Tyler made that because I told you he was a good football player, could throw it well.

I thought we just started slow, especially defensively. Just didn't make enough plays. Some covered busts early, I thought two of them. We'll look at the tape and find out.

But just got far behind, could never catch up. Never had a lead in the game, and I thought we were going to take it in the fourth quarter and fell short at the end. Tough one to swallow, but we will bounce back.

All our goals are still in front of us. Still disappointing.

Questions?

Q. What was the explanation on the safety?

PAT NARDUZZI: Next question.

Q. From the sideline, what could you see was the problem with the defense?

PAT NARDUZZI: You know, at times crappy tackling on some of their now routes, just taking a shot and going and making plays. We didn't make plays. Again, give them credit. They've got some good skill guys out there, and we didn't make plays on the edge making tackles. Just gave them too many yards there.

Then I know the fake reverse, I'm not sure who kind of wheeled out, I know Mallory wheeled out and we didn't cover that one early, but just some little things like that, and we'll look at the tape and evaluate. I'll have more answers on Monday.

Q. On Kenny's second interception, what was the miscommunication between him and Jordan?

PAT NARDUZZI: You know, we'll go back and watch the tape and look at it. I'm not sure what happened there. I'm not sure if it was a Kenny throw behind or Jordan didn't look like he looked quick enough. I'm not sure what it was. I'm not sure if it was a completed play or not, but we've got to make a play there and throw it to your best player.

I'm not sure what happened. That's something I'll look at and let you know Monday.

Q. On the missed assignments, were they doing some stuff you guys hadn't seen offensively?

PAT NARDUZZI: There was a couple things. Obviously every week you're dealing with stuff that they haven't seen. They've never shown that fake reverse and the wheel down the sideline.

We took care of some of the chute problems that we had a week ago. They tried twice and we got them on them, but they found something else and we didn't make a play.

Q. Looked like they were getting a lot of pressure. Were there some blitzes that caught you guys off guard? Seemed like there was a little bit more pressure on Kenny today than normal.

PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, there was definitely. We didn't protect our quarterback like we needed to. That was one of the keys we thought was protecting him. We know they've got guys that can rush. They've got speed off the edge.

We'll look at the tape and see what it was, but sometimes it looks like we missed some guys, sometimes they're bringing one extra guy than you can handle, so we'll look at it.

Q. Only 13 carries between Vincent, Isy and Rodney. Was that a product of playing from behind?

PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, we were playing from behind early, and ran the ball a few times in the second half, which I thought was good, we just couldn't get it going. Then we did it a couple times, and then we go back to it and all of a sudden you get hit for a yard loss. They're pretty good up front, they're active, and they've got some guys that look like the guys that Clemson had last week.

They're a talented football team, but it was more about what we did, not about what they did. It was more about what we did.

Q. Did you consider going for it on 4th and goal from the 5 when you took the field goal?

PAT NARDUZZI: We thought about it. We thought we'd have more opportunities to get back down there, which we did, and turned it over. 4th and 5 is a long one. We wanted to get three there and go.

Q. That special play, was that in all week? Was that a plan to use that this week?

PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, it was. It was a plan to use it.

Q. Looked like Erick Hallett was kind of late on several plays but was out in the flat or deep down the field, even some passes that were in the air. What did you see from his performance because he's been a guy that's made a lot of plays for you guys?

PAT NARDUZZI: He's been really good. I'm not going to talk about winning performance or losing or average or whatever it is. We'll evaluate it and look at it, but again, they've got some good speed. Certainly didn't like some of the things I saw out there. Sometimes just kind of following our linebacker on some of those now routes. We'll look at it. But it takes 11. It ain't just one guy.

Q. There wasn't much film on Van Dyke coming into this game; did that add an extra layer of --

PAT NARDUZZI: You said there wasn't much film?

Q. Not much film on Van Dyke. He only played two games.

PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, he played more than two games, but he's been playing at Central Connecticut.

Q. Did that add an extra layer of difficulty?

PAT NARDUZZI: No. We knew he was a good football player. I said that last week. I only need one game -- watch North Carolina State; put that on. There was plenty of tape. We knew he had a good arm, and we knew he was a good football player. He's going to be a really good football player in this conference for the next three years, so he's a good player, and I saw enough tape.

Q. You had nine penalties for 108 yards. Any consistent -- is it keeping guys heads? Is it knowledge of the rules? What are you seeing?

PAT NARDUZZI: No comment.

Q. You talked about during the week that you thought -- you talked about your guys being focused and not letting this be a letdown after such a big win. Did you think there was a problem with preparation going into this weekend or was this more of an on-the-field situation?

PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, I think it's an on-the-field situation. I think it's a make-a-play situation. That's what it is. They were prepared. They were locked in.

Our Friday walk-through guys were loud. I'm down at the other end of the field and I'm hearing our guys communicate, talk. Our guys were prepared.

Again, you can't prepare for everything that you don't know is coming, but our guys were locked in. I felt like we knew a lot of things that were going on. They made a few more plays than we did.

Q. Obviously Kenny wasn't perfect, a couple interceptions, but for him to throw over 500 yards and even in the Western Michigan game throw six touchdowns and the defense not being able to keep two teams like this out of the end zone, how frustrating is that for you as a defensive-minded coach?

PAT NARDUZZI: It's frustrating, no doubt about it. We could throw a couple more touchdown passes, as well. If it's going to be a shootout, it's going to be a shootout. But they've got good talent, we've got good talent, and the goal of the game is to score one more, and we didn't do that today.