MORE HEADLINES - The Kenny Pickett Show, Ep. 17: Championship Week | Championship Week: An inside look at Wake Forest | Championship Week: Dorin Dickerson previews the ACC Championship Game | Who is Pitt targeting to finish the recruiting class of 2022? | Need to know: Everything to get ready for the ACC title game | Narduzzi on Wake Forest, the ACC title, Pitt's season and a lot more | Pitt leads the All-ACC teams | Pickett named ACC Player of the Year | PODCAST: Championship week edition

Pat Narduzzi covered a lot of ground in his final local press briefing of the week on Thursday. Here's the full rundown of what he said.

Narduzzi: Our guys are locked in. Really locked in. I was happy with the week of practice. Coach Whipple just mentioned in a staff meeting, in pass skelly we throw two balls and he said we completed all 72 balls today. There wasn’t a bad throw or a drop in pass skelly, so that’s a good sign. The kids are locked in.

I’ve treated this game just like any other game. I know you guys will treat it bigger, but the goal is to go 1-0 again this week and I really liked our kids’ focus, the coaches have done a great job and we’re ready to roll.

What do you remember about being down there three years ago? Anything notable about Charlotte, the stadium, locker rooms, that kind of thing?
Narduzzi: You know what I remember? My daughter Christina - after the game, your family comes in the locker room, they had a little coaches locker room there, the thing I remember - because I don’t remember a lot of stuff. You remember losing. But she sent me this earlier in the week, I thought this was beautiful. After the game, you’re disappointed, you’ve got your head down, like what the heck happened? Clemson was pretty good. But she wrote on the grease board in the locker room, ‘We’ll be back.’ I thought that was pretty cool. I thought about tweeting that out.

‘We’ll be back.’ And we’re back.

What I remember is, we didn’t play so good. I think Kenny threw for eight yards. I remember having a couple delay of games, maybe one after the other. We didn’t handle the stage like we did. I think Clemson had a bunch of first-rounders on the defensive line. So we ran into a buzzsaw. We’re a little different football team than we were back then, so I feel good about our chances going down there. Our kids are ready to go. It’s going to be a great game. They have a great offense, we’ve got a great offense; we’ve got a good defense, they’ve got a good defense. We’re going to find out and we have to go make plays. The team that makes the most plays is going to win.

Calijah told us about the emphasis you guys have made on getting a push from the defensive line each play to knock off what they like to do with their mesh, their RPO’s; how have you seen them adapt to that challenge this week?
Narduzzi: Yeah, that’s a great question. Calijah gave you some good scoop there. I mean, what they do - you guys have seen them ride their RPO’s into the line of scrimmage. It’s a belly play. It almost looks like their o-line is blocking for a quarterback sneak, wedge-blocking. And we’ve got to get push. I mean, you have to get push anyway, but we have to get penetration. It’s not going to be easy because they’re big, they know what they’re doing.

The thing about their offense is, they don’t do a lot. It’s not like they’re this ‘We do everything,’ but what they do, they do really good. I would kind of compare it to our defense. We don’t do a lot, but what we do, we know what we’re doing, we’re going to execute better than you are. And that’s what they plan on doing. They’ll have their little things in, but they execute and the quarterback is sharp. Hartman is sharp. You watch the third-down tape and I’m like, ‘What are we doing?’ Third down, they are unbelievable. But we have to get a push and we have to put pressure on the quarterback.

Some of the players have said it feels different this time than 2018. I think you mentioned it, too, that 2018 was just happy to be there, in a sense, and now you’re favored to go win it. Is that something that you got a sense of during practice and meetings?
Narduzzi: Yeah, I think it’s just - I don’t remember the week of practice we had back in ’18 to say, ‘Oh yeah it’s’ - but they’re locked in this week. I can’t tell you they weren’t locked in back then. But it’s like I told them, we’re going to go into the locker room and it’s a different locker room: they have name tags, it’s different. It’s not like walking into Syracuse last weekend; it’s dressed up like a championship game. The ACC does a first-class job. So you walk in and you kind of go, ‘Oh wow.’ It’s like I told them after practice today: we’re not worried about all the hoopla. We’re going in there to play a football game and it doesn’t matter. We’ll worry about everything after the game. The focus is to be 1-0.

I just think we were happy to be there and that’s what it was. But it was the same thing when we got beat by Russell Wilson and Wisconsin our first time in the Big Ten championship. We got beat and then the next time we went back, we beat No. 1 Ohio State.

You guys play in an NFL venue every week; do you feel like that can be something that - that’s a stage you guys are familiar with.
Narduzzi: Right. I would say it’s an advantage to us if there’s an advantage. But a stadium is a stadium. It’s a field, there’s stands. I feel like that’s a wash. I don’t think that’s going to be a game-changer. If there is an advantage, advantage Pitt for an NFL stadium. But I don’t know if it really matter.

How important is the run game this week to - you have to throw the ball with Kenny and Jordan and everybody, but running the ball, is that an emphasis this week with the way that they play offense, too?
Narduzzi: We’re not going to run the ball because we want to keep their offense off the field. That’s our defense’s job to keep them off the field. Are they going to run the ball more to keep Kenny off the field? I don’t know. We have to do what we do. We have to take what they’re giving us. We’re not just going to run up in there and go tick-tock, tick-tock, and look at the clock.

Our job on offense is to score and our job on defense is to stop them and our job on special teams is to have great coverage on our coverage teams, our punt and kickoff, and our return team, we’ve got to get explosive there. Make a block. So we’re going to do what we do. We’re not going to change our tempo for them.

Speaking of the run game, do you expect Izzy to be available?
Narduzzi: He’ll be available.

You’ve used a number of combinations in the last few weeks on the offensive line. How do you think that’s held up and what do that do in a game like this to know that, if needed, you’ve got some guys who have played in games?
Narduzzi: It helps us a bunch. Coach Borbely and Coach Whip’ have done a good job juggling those guys, and it’s amazing how, ‘This guy’s out’ - you know, we found Marcus Minor can snap this week, too. You kind of work different combinations. ‘What if, what if’ - we’ve had some ‘what if’s’ and we’ve gotten to where, it was stupid on my part, but Terrence Moore went in for one play when Owen got his helmet knocked off. We put him in for one play because Owen’s helmet got knocked off and the ACC agreed that he shouldn’t have had to leave the game, it should have been hands to the face. But we put him in for one play and lost one of his four games. So we try to be careful with him and made some different things. He’s a guy that we know can go in and do it, but we really don’t want to if we don’t have to. So we’ve worked some different combinations and it’s been a great job by our offense of getting different guys and working different positions. It’s been good.

When you look at the five Power Five title games, of all 10 schools, at least eight have guys who have been in the job at least four years, in some cases far longer. Is there something to longevity, to staying the course?
Narduzzi: Yeah, people don’t have much patience nowadays. My wife would probably say I don’t have it either, so I’m glad I’m not an AD.

Yeah, I think there’s something to it. To be honest, I haven’t even looked at those other Power Five games.

Even you and Dave have been in your jobs for awhile.
Narduzzi: That’s a good thing, I guess. But just because you’re in your job for awhile doesn’t mean you’re going to be there. I’m sure you can pull some guys out there who have been in their job for awhile that aren’t playing Saturday.

On that, with the coaching carousel that’s been going on the last week, what do you make of where your profession’s at? And your name has popped up for a couple openings.
Narduzzi: I’m focused on this game. That’s the first thing. I have a thing I can show you when we walk out of here. Walk in my office and there’s a piece of paper laying right there with something my dad had folded up in his pocket. It’s called loyalty, okay? I’m all about loyalty. It ain’t about the money. It should never be about the money. You just see some of these, ‘I can’t turn it down’ - I’m not going to get into talking about coaches and who made that decision to go there and that. And then supposedly everybody’s out of money because of Covid and we couldn’t have people in stadiums last year, but they’re finding it somewhere. But they can’t find enough money to make sure that everybody gets an extra year. And they put the coaches in a bind where we can only be on 85 scholarships. It doesn’t make sense. We’ve got all this money out there we’re throwing around, but what are we doing for the kids? That’s where I’m at on it.

So I’m not going to criticize anybody for taking a job or not taking a job or whatever. It’s just - it’s not good. It’s not good for the profession, I don’t think.

What does it do to your locker room and to recruiting when your name gets banded about like that?
Narduzzi: Again, EJ’s my guy over there, and to be honest with you, I’ve been locked into this game this week and I don’t think my name has really been thrown out there or EJ would tell me if there was something serious going on out there. I mean, Twitter, don’t listen to Twitter.

It wasn’t Twitter. It was actually some national reporters.
Narduzzi: I don’t know anything about that and EJ would fill me in if there was something major there.

Can it have an effect?
Narduzzi: I don’t think so. I think our kids know where I stand. But then when things happen and you see a Brian Kelly leave in the middle of the night, you kind of wonder…

Like I said, I’m happy in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s my home. I’ve got a daughter who’s a sophomore at Pitt, Isabella; my daughter sends me a text that says ‘We’ll be back’ - that’s ‘we’ll be back.’ We, we, we. And we’ll be back again. That’s our plan.

Not to -
Narduzzi: Beat a dead horse?

No. You say money’s not an issue, but you see some guys whose resume - maybe your resume might be more accomplished than theirs and they’re getting more money than you.
Narduzzi: I’ve never, ever looked at it that way. As a matter of fact, I sent Jim Phillips a big, long text message the other day. We’re talking about the 12 - I guess yesterday some things came out and he asked me, ‘Pat, what’s your feeling?’ Which I love about the guy. How many guys just text you, and Commissioner Phillips did, which is awesome. I’m sure he did with the rest of the guys. What’s your feelings? I just said, ‘Listen, there’s no rush to get to 12 teams.’ I don’t even know if I’m supposed to talk about this. I don’t know if the ACC has a stance and I’m not going to get into who said what with all the 12-man talk, but it sounds like they’ve put it on pause a little bit. To me, it’s what I said to him: don’t make quick decisions. Take your time. That’s what I’m all about: take your time in decision-making.

I’ve turned down five head coaching jobs before I took the right one. I’ve turned down a lot of money. I could have gone and doubled my money with Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M a long time ago and said no. Most people don’t do that. I’m not like some of these other guys. That’s what it is. That’s how I feel. Two days before I [took this job], I turned down Colorado State; I don’t know if you know that. Those are things that - you know, you may never get - you turn down Colorado State, you may never have another opportunity to be a head coach. But I’m happy where I am. It’s not about the money. I turned down UConn when Bob Diaco took it.

It’s not about the money. And again, I’m making 800,000 and I turn down three million and go, what are you doing? I’m an idiot, right? You’re probably saying I’m an idiot. It’s 800, three million, what are you doing? But it ain’t about that. Those are facts.

It’s never going to be about that.

You’re someone who maybe has a different outlook -
Narduzzi: Is this a Wake Forest question?

No. When you’re someone who has a different outlook than a lot of people in your field, how important is it to have someone you’re working with who understands you and where you’re coming from?
Narduzzi: I think it’s good. Chancellor Gallagher hired me back in the day, and me and Heather get along great. Again, it’s about the people. There’s places that you’ve got interest and you look, ‘I don’t know that person and that person.’ There’s a reason you make decisions. It’s about the people.

You go back to Michigan State a year ago and I don’t know the AD. If Mark Hollis was there, if Lou Anna Simon was there as president, maybe it’s a different story. But I don’t know the people. It don’t matter about the money. Those are reasons why. Chancellor Gallagher’s awesome and Heather’s great and it’s about being happy every day. That’s why, when you have decisions - you guys, I don’t know what you guys are talking about, to be honest with you. I don’t know where you guys are going.

There’s been talk from the players about the Western Michigan loss and how it’s still ingrained in your team; now you’re playing a team that runs this RPO offense. How have your guys approached the challenge? Other teams have tried it against you and you have defended it better, but now you guys are facing what seems like the ultimate test.
Narduzzi: The gurus. The gurus of the RPO. And again, in an ACC game, so I hope mentally we’re ready to go play the game. We’ve gotten better at it. It comes down to making plays and it comes down to schemes at times, but you still have to make plays. We’re going to have our opportunities to make plays.

I would say they are the gurus of - this is the major RPO team, period. They do it as good as anybody in the country, and they’ve got their little niche. That’s what they’re going to ride all the way to the end. They’re good at it. You’re either going to stop the run and he’s - I’ve never seen a guy ride the RPO that long, but you can’t tell who he’s reading. Is he reading the Star? Is he reading the boundary safety? Is he reading the Money ‘backer? You don’t even know who he’s reading. The guy is like swivel-head. The guy is smart. He’s obviously a Wake Forest kid, got into school there like it’s getting into Pitt and he’s intelligent and does a nice job.

What’s the balance in that regard of knowing when to get your hands up?
Narduzzi: You’d like to get your hands up. That’s a great point. It’s important to get batted-down balls. He’s not 6-foot-5 either, riding that thing in there. But you have to get penetration. It’s like a field goal. If you line up on a field goal and just try to jump up in the air - the closer you get to the ball, it’s going to be lower and you’ll have a chance. So that’s something we’ve focused on. But if you start jumping and putting your arms up before it’s time, then you knocked back. And what you’ll see is, he rides, rides, rides, and if he doesn’t like it and the handoff’s gone, then he lets it go and if he’s looking and it’s still not there, he takes off and scrambles. A lot of times, guys will get washed at that point because they’re trying to get their hands up. So there’s a fine line of being there and getting your hands up and maintaining your gap integrity.

With a full season under his belt, what have you seen from Sam Scarton?
Narduzzi: He’s been outstanding. I think third-team All-ACC; is that correct? For a young guy, Sam’s been money. He’s had one game that wasn’t so good, and besides that, you’re happy with what he’s done throughout the season.