Things have not exactly been great for the Penn State offense the last couple of weeks, but things could always be worse. You could be the Pitt Panthers.
Pitt fell to 2-6 this season after getting scorched on the road at Notre Dame this weekend by a score of 58-7. The Irish led Pitt 17 at halftime and blew the game wide open in the third quarter with a 27-point quarter. Former Penn State quarterback [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] had a brutal outing in his latest start with 4 interceptions and -13 rushing yards.
Veilleux has taken over the starting quarterback job for the Panthers and is currently up to 774 passing yards with 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. The Panthers are 1-2 since Veilleux has taken over the starting job with an upset win over Louisville and back-to-back losses against Wake Forest and Notre Dame. Pitt has be
The Pitt offense now ranks 113th in total offense, 101st in scoring offense, 117th in rushing offense, and 92nd in passing offense. Now heading into November, it is worth taking a look back at some of the comments Narduzzi had to share about the Pitt offensive philosophy when asked about the transfer addition of Veilleux from the Nittany Lions.
“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand-new for him,” Narduzzi said in during the summer media day season. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense.”
Of course, this comment has already been revisited once this season. After Pitt scored 6 points in a rivalry game loss to West Virginia, we looked back at that quote, keeping in mind Penn State put 38 points on the board against the same Mountaineers team just a couple of weeks prior.
The state of Pitt’s “real offense” continues to take a beating after a horrendous showing against Notre Dame. And Narduzzi may be doing more internal damage than he can afford after his postgame comments about Pitt’s talent level were making the rounds on social media.
Narduzzi: "We lost a lot of good players last year. We thought we'd replace them and we obviously didn't do a good job with that."
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) October 28, 2023
This comment was selectively taken a little out of context, as it was just a part of a response to a question where Narduzzi was attempting to explain the recent struggles starting with him, but it was enough to cause a stir online from some of Pitt’s players.
Well, that’s one way to lose a locker room.
Pittsburgh players did not like Pat Narduzzi’s postgame comment after a 58-7 loss at Notre Dame.
Panthers are 2-6 this season.
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/97zKXPAn5D
— Cody Nagel (@CodyNagel247) October 29, 2023
Narduzzi took to his social media account later to try and calm the noise a bit, but you have to wonder if it will resonate with his players well enough given how this season is going.
I am 100% responsible for today’s loss. Like I said after the game, it starts with me. I didn’t do a good enough job coaching today. Put it on me! I remain committed to finishing the season strong with our team!
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) October 29, 2023
Narduzzi says Veilleux will remain Pitt’s starting quarterback moving forward. Veilleux and the Panthers will be in for another massive test next week when they host undefeated Florida State. Pitt is 2-6 and one more loss away from being ineligible for a postseason bowl game.
Meanwhile, in Happy Valley, Penn State has its own offensive concerns to address in the coming weeks. Penn State visits Maryland this weekend and will host Michigan next week. Penn State’s offense has to be cleaner and more crisp if it is going to avoid an upset at Maryland and compete with the two-time defending Big Ten champions.
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