Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi declined the opportunity Tuesday to elaborate on a comment he made earlier in the week that seemed to take a poke at Penn State for its handling of quarterback Christian Hackenberg.
That’s unfortunate.
Wouldn’t you have enjoyed reading more?
“It’s a shame what they’re doing to Hackenberg up there. They have taken a great young talent with pro potential and turned him into a mediocre quarterback. I know their offensive line is terrible, but there’s no way Hackenberg should be this bad. Do they even have a clue what they’re doing as coaches? Of course, it is Penn State. They’ve been ruining quarterbacks for years.”
Penn State coach James Franklin took the high road Tuesday when asked about Narduzzi’s veiled shot at him and offensive coordinator John Donovan. Franklin said he didn’t want to read anything into Narduzzi’s comment about how a bad play-caller can make a good quarterback look, bad even though there was no doubt it was directed at Penn State. Franklin even said, “I’m happy for [Pitt], and the success that they’ve had.” Sure, he is.
Franklin’s response also was unfortunate.
Wouldn’t you have enjoyed reading more?
“Who does Narduzzi think he is? Talking about my program like that? What coach talks about another team’s players? What has he ever done as a head coach, anyway? He has enough to worry about at Pitt without worrying about Penn State. Have him get back to me when Pitt actually puts some people in the seats. I can’t wait to kick his [bleep] next season.”
Wouldn’t that have been great fun?
In any case, my appreciation goes out to Narduzzi. It’s not just that he’s right on about Penn State and Hackenberg and that he had the brass to say it publicly. Narduzzi reminded me of just how much fun the Pitt-Penn State rivalry was and how great it’s going to be when the series resumes next season Sept. 10 at Heinz Field. The schools will play each season from 2016-19.
It will have been 16 long years when Pitt and Penn State finally tee it up again. Pitt won the most recent game, 12-0, at Three Rivers Stadium Sept. 16, 2000, with quarterback John Turman throwing for 272 yards and a touchdown and a defense that limited Penn State to 64 rushing yards and sacked quarterback Rashard Casey three times. The win couldn’t have happened at a more perfect time for Pitt fans, many of whom were and always will be jealous of Penn State. It didn’t just snap a seven-game losing streak to the Nittany Lions. It assured that late, great Penn State coach Joe Paterno would lose his final game against Pitt. How Pitt fans loved that.
Pitt people rightfully blame Paterno for putting the Penn State series on a long hiatus out of spite because Pitt decided to join the Big East Conference for basketball in 1982 rather than Paterno’s proposed Eastern all-sports league. Penn State went on to bigger and better things — joining the lucrative Big Ten Conference in 1990 — but Paterno never forgot what he considered to be a betrayal by Pitt.
The Penn State football program was rocked in 2011 by the child-abuse monstrosities committed by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Of far greater concern than football, lives were ruined and an entire region was shaken.
Pitt football also became largely irrelevant around the same time because of the way it went through head coaches, six in a five-year period, including interims. It would have been laughable if it weren’t so disappointing.
Bill O’Brien and then Franklin have stabilized Penn State. The program will be really good again because of Franklin’s ability to recruit — sooner rather than later — even if it didn’t look like it Saturday night when Penn State was crushed by No. 1 Ohio State.
Narduzzi has brought similar stability to Pitt, which is 5-1 in his first season after upsetting Georgia Tech Saturday on the road . Pitt is ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll, its first ranking since the 2010 preseason. Narduzzi also is a dynamic recruiter.
Somehow, you just knew Pitt-Penn State would be fun again when Franklin said, after his hiring in January, 2014, “We are going to dominate the state [in recruiting].” Narduzzi quickly responded when he was hired from Michigan State in December 2014, pointing out how University of Michigan people once believed the same thing in their state. Narduzzi, as defensive coordinator, played a significant role in Michigan State winning seven of the past eight games against Michigan. He thoroughly enjoyed Michigan State’s miraculous win Saturday from afar.
The assistant coaches at Pitt and Penn State have joined the fray, going after each other in a brief Twitter battle earlier this year. Now, after a temporary ceasefire, Narduzzi has added to the fun. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
To his credit, Narduzzi has pushed for Pitt and Penn State to play every year. To her discredit, Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour hasn’t been nearly as enthused about the rivalry with Pitt or any school. “We’re Penn State … It’s about us.”
For now, I’ll settle for four games in four years.
Only 326 days until Sept. 10.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Poni” show weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.
First Published: October 21, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
