PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pat Narduzzi gathered his players on Sunday night, just like always. And just like always, the longtime Pittsburgh head coach kept his eyes and the eyes of his team looking forward.
Not back. Not to the side. Forward.
Even with the 22nd-ranked Panthers off to the program’s best start since 1991 after a 34-24 win over North Carolina last weekend pushed them to 5-0. Even with the team picked to finish 13th in the new-look Atlantic Coast Conference back in the polls for the first time in two years. Even with first-year offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s scheme looking every bit as dynamic as advertised when he was hired last December.
“Right now, midseason, if you get too caught up, ‘Look at us, we’re ranked,’ good luck to you,” Narduzzi said Monday.
The Panthers, however, have hardly needed luck so far. Not with Alabama transfer Eli Holstein putting up numbers not seen since Dan Marino was a Panther more than 40 years ago and 5-foot-8 Desmond Reid becoming perhaps the best running/receiving threat in the country.
Pitt has won in blowouts and won while trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter. The Panthers have also showcased a fair amount of grit, something that came to the fore against the Tar Heels last weekend when Pitt largely shut down North Carolina in the second half to win in Chapel Hill for the first time.
Asked what he’s learned about a team that began the season with minimal expectation — externally anyway — after going 3-9 in 2023, Narduzzi pointed to the four words that adorn the back wall of the team meeting room: attitude, effort, toughness and knowledge.
Oh, and one more: attitude.
“ I like the selflessness that they’ve shown,” he said. “Doesn’t matter who catches the ball, who has the big game as a receiver, who makes a sack. They’re celebrating together.”
There’s been plenty of celebrating to go around behind an offense that is fourth in total yards (522) and sixth in points (45.6), a massive spike for a program that sank under the weight of a lifeless offense a year ago, leading to an overhaul that included bringing in the 31-year-old Bell.
The relentlessly energetic Bell has given the Panthers a jolt. So too has one of the players he brought with him from Western Carolina. The electric Reid has become the hub that Pitt’s attack revolves around. Reid is second in the nation and tops in the ACC in all-purpose yards (193.5) and has made all the FBS programs that passed on him coming out of high school — the Panthers included — look a little foolish in the process.
Narduzzi admitted there was a little size bias at play initially when it comes to Reid.
“If you’ve got a choice between a 5-8 guy and 6-foot guy, you’ll take the 6-foot guy,” Narduzzi said.
Yet few players in the country — regardless of whether Narduzzi can see them while standing in front of a podium, as he joked on Monday — can transform a game in an instant quite like Reid.
He’s the first running back in Pitt history to have multiple 100-yard receiving games, a list that includes Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett and Curtis Martin. Reid rolled up 155 yards receiving against the Tar Heels, including a 2-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
The return of running back Rodney Hammond — who was reinstated last week after initially being ruled ineligible — means the Panthers might not have to rely on Reid so heavily, in theory helping him stay healthy as Pitt dives deep into conference play with a visit from Cal on Saturday.
A season that began with plenty of question marks has provided a handful of promising answers through five weeks. Narduzzi is encouraged but hardly satisfied.
“I don’t care (about) the preseason ranking,” he said. “The only ranking we’ll brag about is what our postseason ranking is and trying to win a championship. Those are the rankings you worry about.”
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