Pitt defeated Georgia Tech by a score of 34-20 on Thursday night. Pat Narduzzi addressed the media following the game, and here is a full rundown of his remarks about his team’s victory.

Narduzzi: Obviously it’s a great team win by our football team. Vince Davis had a heckuva day, he ran like a big dog. For a little guy that guy’s got a lot of power, lot of quickness. Opened up the game with a big, long run. Still kicked too many field goals in the red zone, and again disappointed in some of the penalties near the end, but we’ll go back and look at the tape and see what happened there. But overall our kids played their tails off, it’s hard to get ACC wins on the road and our guys hung together and grinded it out.

Obviously you want to establish the run in every game, but was there something about Georgia Tech where you thought you could do it tonight?

Narduzzi: No, not really. We got in - we had a new play, that first play was like a trap, the first play of the game which is a great way to play fast. We talk about starting fast compared to what we did our last outing where we started really, really slow like a turtle. But our guys started fast and had their foot on the gas and our O-line blocked well and our running backs ran hard. Again, is it Clemson? No. It was Georgia Tech, and again it was a great win.

You mentioned it earlier this season kind of earning game by game and getting the opportunity to play. Getting to the end of the regular season here with only one postponement, what can you say about your players the way you approached this season?

Narduzzi: It talks to the culture of our football team and our program. There’s a lot of people just cancelling games left and right for whatever reason, they can’t do the right things off the field and our kids have made the sacrifice to get to 11. It’s hard, it’s not easy, our kids made sacrifices. They’ve been on this campus since June 8th, it’s been a long year. It’s three tests a week, it’s a grind. It’s a grind like no other season we will ever ever have again, I sure hope. It just tells you our kids do the details off the field, maybe the details off the field then on the field, but it’s been a long year and our kids get the credit. They got it done. We haven’t had one staff member ever come down with anything, knock on wood. And again we’ve done the right things. I thank UPMC and all of our medical personnel. Dr Mayer and Dale Thornton, our trainer. It’s a constant reminded to these kids to not let their guard down.

What were your conversations like with Hamlin and Weaver before this game?

Narduzzi: Great. We had conversations all through the week and I totally support those guys. They had decisions they had to make for personal reasons and great conversations. They did what they had to do. It gives other guys opportunities to make plays. Erick Hallett started at the field and had a nice game, I think. Started off the game with an interception I think the first play on defense. Again just an opportunity to move onto 2021 and hopefully it’s not a COVID year.

Is there anything specific you could chalk up to the red zone failures to?

Narduzzi: We’ll look at the tape to find out exactly. Was it play calling? Was it execution? There’s always a little bit of both. It’s on everybody when we don’t score touchdowns down there. I was disappointed when it was late in the game and we got a 15-yarder, we would have had first and goal after they had a personal foul. Someone stole someone’s towel on the other team and our guys grabbed it back and got 15 yards for trying to get his towel back. I think they watch too much NFL football. It was one of those foleys were someone stole a towel and all the sudden they steal a bowl from us and we get 15 yards for getting it back, so just some crazy stuff. That was the last one we took and we got three points, but that should have been a touchdown too. We got to execute when we get down there and we got to be smart.

It seemed extra chippy. What were the emotions like down on the field?

Narduzzi: It was a fun game, chippy is good. We just got to be smart. I don’t want any 15 yard penalties, those will drive you nuts. It’s a discipline deal and I don’t like it. It’s an emotional game out there, kids are playing hard, but we got to be smarter.

Would you have liked to have a longer conversation with Geoff Collins after the game?

Narduzzi: I just said, ‘hey you got a great team’ and he said that’s baloney, I guess and nice words and walked off. I don’t know. I thought it was a good game.

You mentioned earlier this week that Georgia Tech gave you fits. Was there a point early in the night when you were stalling in the red zone that you felt some deja vu?

Narduzzi: It’s a football game, it’s going to be a back and forth. The ups and downs every game, I tell our kids that every pregame before we walk out there together. We knew it was going to be a dog fight, they’re a tough football team, they play hard, and they’re going to play for 60 minutes, not 58 or 59 - they’re going to play for the entire game. Our guys stuck it out and that’s what football is. There’s no easy games period in the ACC.

You said on Monday that you would go to a bowl game if invited, is that still your intention?

Narduzzi: That’s my intentions, but I don’t make all those calls. I saw BC opted out of a bowl game and those are just decisions are above my pay grade. We obviously always want to go play another one. I’d like to play 12.

What were your conversations like with Vincent Davis throughout the game?

Narduzzi: Vince Davis, pound for pound, that guys is one of the toughest guys on our football team. He gets tossed around sometimes and he just keeps swinging. Our O-line did a heckuva job of pushing the pile at times. That last drive where they had to burn all three timeouts, just a gutty performance by our offense in general. So that won the game right there, that drive right there that was big time. It drained the clock and it gave them little time. Then our defense in the two-minute drill at the end just held on. We talked about just bending, don’t give it to them easy, keep everything in front of us. They hit a couple of check-downs, but overall just a heck of a performance.

That was probably Kenny’s last game in the ACC; what can you say just about the way that he handled himself?

Narduzzi: Kenny is just a tough son of a gun. When he’s running our offense, everybody has got a lot of confidence in him. He’s making calls out there, making plays, had a couple of quarterback sneaks that were big time. Kenny Pickett is a - I didn’t realize that was his last ACC game, you’re right. But Kenny Pickett, love that guy.

Because you’ll be playing a lot of young guys now, is a bowl game even more important to get more practice?

Narduzzi: I don’t know how many extra practices we’ll get. We need to be smart in this COVID time. It’s not about getting extra snaps for kids, it’s just about being smart, safe, and doing what’s best for our kids. This year I’m not as worried about getting extra practices, it’s not what it’s all about.