Pittsburgh lost to Michigan State in the Peach Bowl last year, but apparently, the Spartans still weren’t impressive to the Panthers.
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said he believes if quarterback Kenny Pickett played in that game, it would’ve been a completely different game.
“He’s a 21 point difference, ok. Michigan State gets their butt kicked in,” Narduzzi said on Bazzy’s Black and Gold Banter. “It’s at least a 14-point difference if Nick Patti plays the whole game.”
Pickett chose to sit out the game to prepare for the NFL draft, where he went No. 20 to the Steelers. Patti was Pickett’s backup but had to leave the game early due to a shoulder injury.
Still, Pitt was up 21–10 heading into the fourth quarter behind third-stringer Davis Beville, but Michigan State scored 21 straight to win 31–21. However, that comeback didn’t leave a strong impression on Narduzzi.
“You talk about Big Ten and SEC and ACC, If that’s one of the best Big Ten teams, let’s go to the Big Ten and win it every year,” he said. “I don’t want to hear about this Big Ten dominance and SEC dominance.”
Pittsburgh had their best season under Narduzzi last year, winning double-digit games for the first time since 2009. They don’t play a Big Ten team this year, with West Virginia and Tennessee as their big non-conference matchups, but next time Pittsburgh does play a Big Ten team, there will definitely be pressure on the Panthers to win regardless of the situation.
