Freeman and Narduzzi had a brief handshake following the Fighting Irish‘s 37-15 win over the Panthers.
After Notre Dame earned a 37-15 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman and Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi met on the field for the customary postgame handshake.
Only, it was difficult not to notice just how brief the interaction was between the two coaches, as Narduzzi seemed as if he was about to exchange a pleasantry with Freeman, only for Freeman to disengage quickly and walk away. So naturally, reporters wanted to know if there was something or nothing concerning the somewhat frosty postgame interaction between the two coaches. If there was, Freeman wasn't willing to admit it. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman on this brief exchange with Pitt’s Pat Narruzzi: “I wanted to go celebrate, you know?”Given the way things played out earlier in the week, it wouldn‘t be surprising if Freeman had filed away one of Narduzzi‘s remarks to the press for motivational purposes. While Narduzzi was complimentary of Notre Dame at various points of his presser earlier this week, he. "It is not an ACC game. I’m glad you brought that up. It is not an ACC game. I would gladly get beat 103 or 110-10 in that game. They could put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that. Again, our focus is on Notre Dame and getting as many wins as we can, one at a time." On the surface, it appeared that Narduzzi was suggesting that the game against independent Notre Dame didn't carry as much weight, given that the Fighting Irish weren't a conference opponent. Either that or he was simply trying to motivate his own team. Narduzzi, during a Friday appearance on, shrugged off the possibility that his comments could have been fuel for Notre Dame‘s fire.. "I have no idea. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just worried about what we do on the field tomorrow. It’s about executing one play at a time and we’ll get it done."Narduzzi certainly heeded his own words about executing one play at a time, as that's the approach he took to coaching the contest, even until the bitter end. The Panthers, trailing 37-9 with the ball and seven seconds remaining in the game, picked up a four-yard gain on a run by Ja'Kyrian Turner, then, Narduzzi curiously opted to utilize a timeout, leaving six seconds left on the clock. Pitt then scored what amounted to a meaningless touchdown on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Eli Holstein to tight end Malachi Thomas. After the game,with the late timeout, emphasizing that the defense cannot allow a late touchdown like that, even though Notre Dame‘s reserves were in the game at that point. After an 0-2 start, the Fighting Irish have won eight games in a row, while Pitt's defeat was its first since September.Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.
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