Pat Narduzzi held his final press briefing of the week on Thursday and talked about Pitt's matchup with Cincinnati, the Panthers' reliance on blitzing and a lot more. Here's video and a full rundown of what he said.

Narduzzi: Okay, week two and we had three really good days of practice. It’s a different force, you know, just as far as what our offense is seeing - the three down, dropping a lot, playing a lot of three-safety looks. You don't see a lot of it every day. You don't see it very often. In fact, I think maybe the last time we saw it was 2021 at Georgia Tech. And I thought we attacked it really good. I think our kids did a good job. We've obviously gone back there to see what we do. It's just one of those things you get to watch and say, okay, you know, what worked, what didn't, and get some more ideas because that's what you'd like to give us some ideas. There’s not a lot to look at. You got one game of what they do. So it's good to have ideas there.

And then as far as the other side of the ball, ywe got to stop the run. I think Sorsby can beat you with his feet. I think he can beat you with his arms. So we got to be good, obviously in the passing game, as well as trying to stop the run at the same time, which is not an easy thing to do.

So we're looking forward to trip down to Cincinnati, old stomping grounds down there and it'll be a good time.

What kind of challenges does drop-eight coverage put on a quarterback with all the different guys they have to worry about?

Narduzzi: Yeah, it's just another guy back there. They try to eat up gaps with the big guys up front and they'll occasionally bring four or five, whatever. I'm sure they got more plans. I might bring six or seven based on how we were just frozen the pocket last year, just held on to the ball. So I'm sure we'll see stuff that we didn't see maybe that they didn't show last week. That's why you go back and look and see what people liked against you in the past. So, you know, we'll take a peek, but dropping the eight to answer your question, Chris, you know, dropping eight is just like, you got to be smart with the ball. There's an extra guy floating around back there. Just think of that that way. But you got to be careful; we like to throw the ball and you just got to be careful. Quarterback’s got to make good decisions.

How do you balance being careful with being too hesitant, you know, as the quarterback and making the right decisions?

Narduzzi: I'll let Coach Bell, I'll let him take care of that. But we got a plan and we'll see how the plan works. I feel I feel really good with where we are right now. And just quarterback’s got to make good decisions, which is what Eli and Nate do. So those guys making decisions and getting the ball to their hand quick.

How is a pass offense impacted by crowd noise?

Narduzzi: I mean, you know, it really doesn't matter. We do it all the time when we got crowd noise out there during practice every day. I mean, it's loud. It doesn't bother us at all. And we expect Nippert to be loud as well. So we practice loud. I don't know how loud it would be down on the field, but I would imagine we were louder out today than it’ll be there. I don't remember being that loud, but I was in the press box back in the day.

You mentioned the other day about the time intervals, intervals when you were snapping the ball. What were the percentages of I think you said on radio that time?

Narduzzi: 57% of the time we snapped the ball before 22 seconds.

So it's 22 seconds or faster.

Narduzzi: Yeah, there's still 22 seconds left on the play clock. So, you know, 57% of the time, you know, Coach Bell gave me a fact, you know, a stat the other day, like I think Tennessee might have snapped 70%. But they don't do all the things we do. You know, they're simplified. They're going to go fast, and they only do a few things. They're running vertical routes and running switch seams. But, you know, with all the motion that we do and the shifting, you know, it's pretty, pretty fast. You have to react to all the movement.

Were there more than 22 seconds left on the clock? Do you have any times more than 22 seconds?

Narduzzi: Yeah, 57% of time. So the other, you know -
43.

Narduzzi: Yeah, exactly. You're good with math. You came out of that 43 pretty quick. So 43% of time was the other way. It's 23 or 24 or 25, whatever.

You said Eli and Nate make good decisions. I'm curious, are there still any scenarios where you would try to get Nate some games just because, you know, he's as new in the system as Eli is?

Narduzzi: No question about it. I mean, you know, you think about it, you see how the game's going, and you make that decision based on that, for sure. Again, I have a ton of respect and a ton of confidence in Nate Yarnell, and we won't hesitate.

But that's not pre-planned, though, right?

Narduzzi: Pre-planned last week.

Eli play until he's not playing.

Narduzzi: Yes. It's a plan going in right now.

You talked about Dontay earlier this week, Corleone, since he was obviously cleared after we spoke. Given the amount of time he's been out, do you think you still think that he's talented enough to have an impact on Saturday, given that he does play, given the time he's missed?

Narduzzi: You know what, you know, yes and no. I don't know. I mean, football shape and running on the sideline, I know when our guys are in the pit and all of a sudden they come back and play the game, it's different. So, you know, I think that's something, I know they - I know a lot of their doctors there, you know, I know the Cincinnati doctors and, you know, old team doctors there. Dr. Colosimo is one of my old guys. I haven't talked to him in a while, obviously, but, you know, I just know that the medical care they have there, they're gonna take care of that guy. I mean, you think about, you know, clots and blood thinners, I don't know anything about all that. That's something you can ask, you know, ask them about. But we expect him to play.

How effective he's gonna be, I mean, he's a player. If he goes in there for three plays, he's in there for three plays, comes out, needs a break, I don't know. But it's hard to get in football shape in a week, I can tell you that. You see that anywhere. I mean, it's hard if you haven't done 11 on 11 and gone - So I'm sure they'll protect him.

You mentioned at the beginning of the week, talking with the coaching staff about Des and his usage and doing special teams and offense. Do you expect him to do everything that he did in week one and week two?

Narduzzi: Yes, yes, sir. No doubt about it. He's a guy, he can go, he's got a motor and he'll be ready to go.

What are your thoughts on the offensive line's performance against Kent State?

Narduzzi: They’ve had a good week and we were happy. I think probably the one thing Coach Darveaux whined about is he didn't think they were in good enough shape in the fourth quarter.

You know, third quarter, he wants them going even faster. So he's practiced that this week and he's gotten them running down the field and running gassers. So that's a typical offensive line thing. He wants them to be the first quarter and look like the third quarter, fourth quarter.

How important is this game in terms of confidence, especially for the offense, knowing that it could be successful against a Power Four team?

Narduzzi: Yeah, it will be successful against a Power Four team. I don't have any questions, but it's important to execute, right? As we've said, you just don't go out there and think that you're just going to - ‘hey, we're good, we'll be okay.’

No, you got to work at it. I like the way our guys worked this week. It's not like they weren't locked in and thinking, ‘oh, we're good already.’ I think they've got talent. You got to go out and make plays. You got to catch the ball, you got to deliver the ball, you got to run the football, you got to block. So it's just going out and executing. It's a game of execution. It's attention to detail and if you take care of the little things, the big things, take care of yourself.

How's the energy been around this group given what happened last week in this game?

Narduzzi: I think it's been great. As a matter of fact, I had a leadership meeting in here this morning. I said, 'how's the team?’ I was picking their brains, that I'm telling them as much as they're telling me, but just they're like, ‘oh, yeah,’ they're shaking their head. Like, you know, it's just different. I don't know why; I don't know. I mean, it's beyond me, but they didn't know last year. So our guys know the difference between this year and last year.

What does Cincinnati do with their run game to make it difficult to stop them? You know, last year, they were after you guys. It seemed like that's something they'll try to do again.

Narduzzi: I don't know. I don't remember what the time possession was last year, but, you know, I think Satterfield does a great job of motions, shifts they're going to get into two-back sets and they always find some little way of doing something you haven't seen. So the great thing is we've got these iPads this year. So as soon as they do something, whether it's the motion or you see something with the tight end alignment, you can at least adjust it even more. And I think we're the best at adjusting stuff, regardless of the video. But now when the kids can actually see what we're talking about, you hope they're listening and understand what we're talking about. But the iPads will help you a lot when you see some of the stuff that they're seeing. But they do, I mean, I think they do a great job of running as good as anybody in the country. There's a reason they're a top-five rush offense in the country last year - they do a good job schematically of trying to put you in a bind.

And again, we've got a three year breakdown. So we've dissected everything from Louisville to Cincinnati with all the years we've played that offense. And so it'll be, it'll be interesting to see what's up his sleeve this year. But I like the iPad, you know, to be able to see stuff.

Tim Daoust was talking to us and he talked about how he was excited to see his guys out there with their improved stamina late in the games, and the advantage that he thinks that you guys will have. How much have you guys discussed the coaching staff playing around like, okay, changing up maybe how you might use your rotations or call certain things because you're expecting a better, you know, a more, more endurance team?

Narduzzi: Yeah, those are all the strategies of the game. You're looking at, you know, personnel in the field, what do they do well, what do they not do well, and we hope we try to keep them fresh. I think we got enough guys up front that we can keep, you know, keep that front four fresh.

I don't think we asked you on Monday, but what went into PJ starting playing those first couple drives ahead of Donovan on Saturday?

Narduzzi: Just coach's decision. I mean, we sit in here just before you guys came in here today just talking about how to play the players and who had the best week of practice and all those, so we'll see what happens this week.

The game has changed so much. Did you ever think you'd be the coach of a team that throws 48 times in a game?

Narduzzi: Yeah, I mean, I bet you it was, is that how many times we threw last week? You know, we've thrown 48 times before. I know it's changed a lot during our years, but, you know, I'm sure Kenny threw 48 times.

Right, that's Kenny.

Narduzzi: Yeah, you're right, maybe with a fresh, fresher quarterback, you know, but you do what you do, do what you do well, and take what they're giving you, so that's the name of the game.

Are you comfortable putting the ball up in the air that many times?

Narduzzi: No question, no doubt, no doubt. I like that. I'd like to score points, and I like to move the sticks. If you're moving the sticks, you got a chance.

You've been on both sides of this rivalry. With this being the last game with the foreseeable future between both teams, would you like to see this back on schedule in the future?

Narduzzi: I would like to see it. I mean, I don't know, River City rivalry, are we still playing for that trophy? Is that trophy still out there? That was an ugly trophy, whoever made that up…but, you know, it's a rivalry game. I'd like to see it played again.

I mean, it's not far away, it's close, it's a heck of a game and there's something to it. Can't play everybody, though.

I know it's just one team, but Eli Holstein had impressive numbers in addition to his regular numbers, but also throwing beyond the sticks. 12-of-17, 187 yards, all three of his touchdowns were beyond the sticks. What have you seen from him that allows you guys as a staff to say, ‘hey, we can expand kind of our range of where we want to target versus intermediate to long to short pass?’

Narduzzi Yeah, I mean, you know, Coach Bell, you know, is going to figure that out, like what he does well, but we want to attack all parts of the field. I mean, if you're just throwing it underneath, you're going to struggle. If you just throw it deep all the time, you're going to struggle. You got to attack different parts of the field. You can't just throw to the right, you got to throw to the left, you can't throw to this, you know.

I mean, defensively, we dissect everything that, wherever they're throwing the ball, is it, you know, deep weak, deep strong, whatever it may be. I mean, and we want to be able to spread the ball out to different guys in different parts of the field. And we have faith in our quarterbacks as well, wherever we've designed it to go.

How does the technology help with playing stuff like that as well with the iPads, as far as seeing like, hey, they're doing this, let's get this part of the field in.

Narduzzi: Yeah, it can help a lot. You know, it can help a lot when you’re going fast and people are stuck maybe playing some vanilla stuff, which I don't know if that'll happen or not. But, you know, a lot of teams versus a fast tempo are going to play one defense. That's the thing that, you know, we don't do.

I mean, if someone's going fast against us, we're going to be, we're not going to let you, you know, dictate to us. We're going to come get you. We're going to blitz you. We're going to bring six, which I'd say 99% of the country will not do that because they're afraid someone will mess up. We practice it. Ours is simple enough to do it that way.

Did you blitz more than you would typically like to, less than you would typically like to, or about average on Saturday?

Narduzzi: You know, it's a good question, Chris. If you watch it, I think 41% of the time we brought six guys last week. That's almost half. I would say through the years, we're somewhere, you know, I was somewhere at Michigan State, somewhere between 31 and 33%, you know, not on purpose. That just seemed to be where I ended up being. I mean, almost always in the 31, 33. But it all depends on how the game's going. If we're getting hits, you're going to, you know, you're going to bring more. If you're not, it depends on how it's going.

If you're 31 to 33 most of the time in your career, then all of a sudden you're 41. Is that putting a little bit of doubt in the other team?

Narduzzi: Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I'm sure, I'm sure they're working on the pressures this week for sure. But I think every, you know, there's not a gigantic - if you're getting, you know, one out of three plays is a pressure, they're working on it anyway. So what’s another, you know, 10%, I don't know if that really matters.

So they got to prepare for it. And they see a lot of, I mean, if they're playing against their defense, they're seeing a lot of drop-eight. So that'll be something that they have to work a lot on, you know.

Does that reflect your confidence in the defensive line getting pressure? Like if that percentage, you know, you're up to almost 50%, like you said, rushing six. Does that, like I said, does that reflect on how the D-line is doing?

Narduzzi: No, that just reflects what we'd like to do. I mean, it's what we do. I mean, we're different than a lot of people. I think that's what makes us unique. We're going to come after you. And, you know, a lot of people can't do what we do. We're different.

Randy likes to be aggressive.

Narduzzi: Yes.

Do you have to reign him in?

Narduzzi: Not really. I mean, I like to be aggressive, too. So we're kind of on the same page. But I did - during the game. I'm like, holy cow, Batesy, slow down, bro. But he was going. I mean, he called like three blitzes in a row at one point. But it's good. I mean, you don't want to be a guy blitzes once and doesn’t blitz again. You know, you can blitz twice in a row, you can blitz three times, you can blitz four times in a row. The way we blitz, to me, it's safe and easy. There's an art to play-calling in the defense.

Narduzzi: Oh yeah.

There's a benefit of showing all that too though, right? Because then that's more that the next team has to prepare.

Narduzzi: Yeah. I mean, they're preparing for a lot of, you know, blitz and then maybe they get a lot of base. I think this, I think Sorsby does a good job versus pressure. I think, you know, the coverage is good against him. Tight coverages are good. And we'll try to make him put it in a tight window, which I think he's enough to do. We'll find out.

Brandon was talking last week about around Saturday about Kate Bell's energy on the sideline. Is he bringing, is he fired up?

Narduzzi: Brandon George was talking about it?He better be on the damn bench paying attention to the adjustments. He's supposed to be looking at his iPad.

You know, I don't notice it because I'm kind of locked on what I got to do. But I think he brings energy to practice every day. I think he brings energy. I think maybe Brandon's hearing from the offensive guys when they're out, you know, dinner at night, but I don't know what he's hearing, but he brings energy. I mean, energy is good. You better have energy as coaches. I always say the energy rubs off. If coaches don't have energy, the players have no energy. The coaches have energy, then the players will, you know, they'll soak that up.

Is that a benefit to kind of have them on the sideline?

Narduzzi: No doubt. No doubt. You know, I like a coordinator on the sideline a lot. Again, I used to be up in the box and then I came down in the fourth quarter. So there's a reason, you know, in that fourth quarter, you try to come down and bring more energy, but I like being up there calling.

You recruit a lot in Ohio. Does that help you when you look at the Cincinnati starting lineup? It's like, I know that guy. I know that guy.

Narduzzi: It does. I mean, that's the negative of, you know, playing Cal or going to, you know, wherever, when you don't know who these guys are, you know, but no, it helps a lot when you know the people and you know what you liked about them. You know some strengths and weaknesses already from the high school days and look for that stuff when you're watching the question.

We see stuff on social media sometimes and got to ask about it. Is Anthony Johnson out for the season?

Narduzzi: Anthony Johnson is not out for the season. No.

Is anybody?

Narduzzi: Jerry, we would have told you if they were.

I know. I just wanted to ask.

Narduzzi: We would tell you. So we'll tell you.