Pat Narduzzi held his final press briefing of the week on Thursday and talked about the Backyard Brawl, stopping the run and a lot more.

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Narduzzi: Week 3, our goal is to go 1-0 every week, and that's the goal this week. Focused on, obviously, West Virginia and who they are and what they do. I think our kids have been locked in all week. I think they're ready to go. Should be a fun rivalry game.

In the last two times that you've played this team, they have been able to run the ball on you guys. Cincinnati was able to run the ball a bit, what do you guys have to do this week to change that trend?

Narduzzi: We’ve got to stop the run. They did run the ball a little bit against us last year. I don't know what the yardage was, but I know they had 212 total yards. Any time you're under 212 yards, that's pretty good. To stop the run, you've got to score points, too. I think last week we ran into the same thing in the first half. When you're down, they can run the ball more. It makes it easy for them, because they're up by whatever, 14, 21 points. We're allowing them by the scoreboard to be able to call those plays. If you're down by 14 on the other end, you have to think otherwise. We've got to help ourselves that way. I think we gave up three big runs last week. As you watch the tape, it's execution. It's not like, ‘Oh man, they got us. That's a great call. We had a crappy call in there.’ We've just got to execute better and make plays.

What parts of your defense give you the confidence that this defense can do that better in this game?

Narduzzi: All parts. If I only felt good about one part, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'd have no confidence in what we're doing. I think we're capable everywhere. We've got to go out and do it. You've got to do it consistently. You can't do it one play and look real good, and then, oh, sorry, we gave up that play.

We'll probably keep guys out on the field. I wasn't happy last week when we made some rotations after the first series, putting some other guys in. It's like, no, we're playing to win the game. I want to keep the starters out there.

Kyle Louis didn't seem like he really came off the field at all.

Narduzzi; He came off that second series. I wouldn't take number nine off the field.

Was that the last time he came off?

Narduzzi: Maybe, because I yelled.

What has he done to get himself in a position where you just don't want to take him off the field?

Narduzzi: He’s a football player. He's tough. He's physical. You can trust him. He's going to do everything exactly the way you want it. If he's going to make a mistake, he's going to make it 110 miles per hour. He's reckless. That's what you want out of a guy that's on the field. I don't want hesitators out there. He's a guy that's a starter for a reason.

What's the difference between a good reckless and a bad reckless?

Narduzzi: Reckless is good, unless you're rushing the punt. Don't be reckless and hit the punter.

Are you able to blitz as much against a guy like Greene who runs as much as he does

Narduzzi: Depends on what kind of blitz you're doing. We're more of a zone blitz team, so I think it fits into maybe what we'd like to do. Obviously, we've got to be calculated because they'll throw screens. We're ready for them motioning the trips and throwing screens and doing all kinds of stuff. For me, I would think we'd be prepared a lot for the screens because we have blitzed less last week than the week before.

I think we talked percentage. It was 41 last week. Usually, we're somewhere between 31 and 33. Opening week, it was 41. Last week, it was maybe in the 34 range.

It seemed like it was more last week.

Narduzzi: You've got to pay attention. I've had people tell me it looks like we're blitzing. When you read fast, it looks like blitzing. If you play fast as linebackers, it should look like 95% blitz. But you can tell by the coverage; when the coverage changes and safeties come down and someone goes back.

To your point, when we blitz, it's zone pressure. We've got 11 guys on the field and we have 22 eyeballs. We want to have eyes on the ball. There's only one ball. When you have pressure and you've got eyes on the ball, it's safer. Now, if you're playing man coverage and you've got eyes on receivers, that's when we worry about a quarterback running. We've got a little bit of man pressure as well, like we always do if we want to dial it up. That's when you have to worry about that. You've got to be right there. We've practiced some of our man stuff versus option and all the different stuff that they could possibly do versus if they see man, check into it.

For those that haven't been a part of this rivalry, do you feel like they have an understanding of what Saturday is going to be?

Narduzzi: I think so. I think Monday we talked about 76 guys in that room that were there last year. That's three-quarters of our football team, so I think that matters. I'm sure they all talk to each other in the locker room while they're taking showers and getting ready to go to class. I think they understand what it's all about, and I've tried to educate them a little bit about what it's going to be like, how loud it's going to be, all the conversations that will happen in the stands. I think they've got a good feel of the flavor that we're going to get this week.

The weather was really nice all week. You went inside to practice. Is that just being extra careful?

Narduzzi: Extra careful. You've got people in the hills. They live in the hills, so we've got binoculars. Mountaineers, man, they're up there. In the mountains right there. Hey, take nothing for granted.

We were inside. You're exactly right. Good observation.

We've had prime-time kickoffs for the last two of these games. Would you rather have a night-time kickoff?

Narduzzi: I’d like a noon kickoff. It would be outstanding. 3:30 is the next best. 7:30 is the least favorite, but I think our kids like it. This game could be played at 10 a.m. in the morning. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter when this game gets played. It's the Brawl. It's the Backyard Brawl. It doesn't matter when it gets played. It doesn't matter.

You talked about defensive starters. Part of that is, you guys are trying to play so fast on offense, if they struggle, the defense is back out there quickly. Do you talk to Kade at all about varying tempo if you struggle a little bit?

Narduzzi: I know you guys think I micromanage offenses through my years here, and I don't. I want to go as fast as we can go. I want to go where it hurts them.

Last week, when Corleone came into the game, our plan was to go as fast as we possibly could to wear him out because he hadn't played that much. Near the end of the game, he's tapping out. He just fell down. We want to go fast. That's our plan. We're not going to change. I don't want to handcuff Coach Bell or any of our offensive coaches or our offense. We want to do what's best for us. I'm not worried about the defense. They've got to suck it up and go. My plan is to have success on offense and not have to worry. We want to move the sticks.

When you're going fast, you've got to move the sticks. We expect to move the sticks better than what we did last first half.

What's been the conversations this week with Eli knowing that this is going to be even more intense, more high pressure?

Narduzzi: Good question. His first game is a starter. Then his second game is on the road. His third game is one of the biggest games of the year because it's the next game and it's the Backyard Brawl. It's his first experience in a big time rivalry game. Couldn't we just have a normal home game? No, but it's going to be that. Once that first play gets snapped, it's just a normal game. It's about our guys executing for 60 minutes. Not for 30, not for 15. For 30 minutes in the first half and 30 in the second. Once that first kickoff, I think our guys are good to go.

For the guys who played in last year's game, is there an initial hunger, thirst because of what happened to wash away that stink?

Narduzzi: I won’t speak for our players. You talked to a couple of them this week. I know I'm hungry. I don't forget. I don't forget. Players don't forget either.

The school put out today that it's going to be a sold out stadium. What do you expect of this environment on Saturday?

Narduzzi: I expect it to be like it was a couple of years ago. I think our Panther Pitt will be outstanding. I thank them prior to when they got the ball. I want our fans, our Panther Pitt to at least cause two unforced errors on offense for them.

I want to be quiet when our offense goes out there so we can communicate and get stuff done. I expect it to be rowdy and I expect them to be in it for 60 minutes until the end. I expect our football team to keep them there engaged for 60.

When it comes to offense, how important is starting fast as far as your preparation and the level of preparation you guys go into to make sure that what you're doing is what you guys need to do?

Narduzzi: You have this room bugged in here? I had a leadership council meeting this morning and I was asking what do we got to do? They say start fast. I'm like well, again psychologically when I tell our guys, hey we got to start fast, if we go three and out the first series, what do our kids think? They're kind of like, oh my god, we failed. We went three and out. We lost.

To me, it's like, we want to start fast. Everybody knows that, but I don't need to focus on that. We need to go play and execute for 60. To me, the fast start is how you finish. Again, it's how you play every play and put it behind you.

I never want to say we got to start fast because as soon as you do that, it's like oh, goal number one, we didn't get that because we went three and out. Or they drove down the field and kicked the field goal. To me, it's about going out and playing like we know how to play.

Execute the call on offense, defense and special teams. I'm not worried about the fast start. Of course, we're going to start fast, but I don't want to say that's the number one thing that we have to do.

Not that it's the number one, but is there an effort to get a script? These are things that we know early on we should hit on.

Narduzzi: We started fast last week. We went right down the field. Shoot Gavin rushed around the edge - hadn’t seen him. We talked about a script that was made there. Everything was good until we had a receiver on the wrong route. Then it started fast. We had to drive to your point. We drove down the field and ate up a little bit of the clock, but you got to finish the drives. It doesn't matter.

On the interception, that was a wrong route.

Narduzzi: It wasn't all Eli. He's got to be smart, but it was a failure out there.

Neal Brown said he would like to see this game played every year. Would you?

Narduzzi: I believe that the game should be played all the time. This is why you coach football. This is why you play the game. I believe the next time we play them is going to be later in the year. It's going to be Thanksgiving Day. How about that? Why not?

When you schedule these things, you schedule way in advance years ago. I think the next four games that we have with them, I think we have tried to get it in November sometime.

We'd like it to be back like it used to be back in the old days. A lot of times, I remember as a little kid up in Youngstown watching it on Thanksgiving. That's kind of like, it's a thing. To me, we need to get it back to where it used to be.

9 a.m., 8 a.m., September, October, November. It doesn't matter.

Can this game, you look at what happened two years ago with your team after winning the game in the opener, you had a pretty good season. They win last year. They were kind of struggling, and then they ended up having a pretty good season. Can this game be, when you have this much packed into it, can it be a jump start for whoever wins it?

Narduzzi: I don't think so. Again, it's a non-conference game. Next week is too. It doesn't matter what we start off. We've got an open week, and then we get an ACC play. That's where the focus is to get in the playoffs. You can be 0-4 coming out of the preseason and get into the ACC play. Win the ACC, you're in the playoffs. You're one of those 12 teams. That's the ultimate goal, is to win an ACC championship, go get it then. It can't be everything. It's just not.

It seems it should be after your conference schedule, right? If you're going to play in November.

Narduzzi: Yeah, but we don't pick that. That's great, but it doesn't matter. We'll play it whenever. I don't care if it's preseason or postseason. It doesn't matter.

Back to the run, what have you seen from Donaldson and White in Washington?

Narduzzi: Jaheim White's a dude. That's another really good question, talking about the opponent. I think Jaheim is a good football player. I see him kind of like a Desmond Reed. He's slippery. He's not real big, but he's explosive. He's made big plays for them. CJ, he's got the other guy. Two different kind of guys. Kind of like we do. I don't think Derrick Davis or Daniel Carter are 240.

They've got a two-headed monster running back, and you better be prepared for different stuff when both of them are in. CJ will probably come in with some short yardage stuff, but both good pass protectors, and they're good football players.

Do you see them use White like you guys use Desmond?

Narduzzi: Yeah, a little bit. They all do everything. It's not like you say, hey, Jaheim's in there and they're going to run outside runs and jet sweeps. With CJ in there, they're going to run inside zones and dives. They do it all. CJ runs a lot of outside zones as well. There's no tip as far as what they're doing when they're in there. They do everything. One guy can hurt you more with certain things than others, I guess.

How multiple are they defensively?

Narduzzi: They’re multiple. Again, they're going to look like a three down, and they're going to get that fourth guy involved, whether it's from the boundary or the field, different coverages. They're multiple on defense. Very multiple.

You mentioned only 212 yards last year. Did you feel like you guys let one get away from you down there?

Narduzzi: I don't think we played extremely well on offense. We threw two interceptions down there. I'm not sure how many points they got. Maybe three points off of that. What was the final score?

17-6.

Narduzzi: When you had turnovers, it should have been 37. You could say that. They got the win.