Pitt HC Addresses Questionable 4th Down Decision

PITTSBURGH — Late-game coaching mismanagement was the demise of the Pitt Panthers in the 34-27 loss to the Louisville Cardinals.

Two questionable fourth-quarter decisions by Pat Narduzzi potentially cost Pitt the first ACC game of the year.

The most questionable came when the Panthers were down by a touchdown with just under three minutes remaining in the game. It was a fourth-and-7 at midfield, and Narduzzi decided to send the punt team onto the field.

However, he changed his mind while the special teams unit was lined up and burned a valuable timeout in a one-score game to put the offense back out there. The timeout was nullified when Pitt failed to convert and turned it over on downs.

"I said punt the ball," Narduzzi admitted postgame. "After I thought about it, I said we're going to go for it. We've got to go for the win. I just didn't have a whole lot of confidence in punting it and making sure we're getting the ball back, and how much time. Didn't know if we'd get another possession. I did want to take advantage of the possession. The defense got the ball back. Wish there was more time. Wish we had more timeouts."

Sep 27, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Louisville Cardinals tight end Nate Kurisky (85) catches a touchdown pass behind Pittsburgh Panthers defensive backs Rashad Battle (15) and Cruce Brookins (12) during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The other decision came earlier in the fourth quarter when Pitt went for it on fourth-and-7 — the same down and distance Narduzzi decided to send the punt team out on later in the game. Except, the Panthers were at the Louisville 39-yard line with a 27-20 lead. Instead of punting, potentially pinning the Cardinals deep and giving his defense lots of field to work with, Narduzzi elected to be aggressive. But it didn't work.

Eli Holstein's targets weren't open, so he had to check it down to true freshman Ja'Kyrian Turner, who bobbled and dropped the catch. Although he likely wouldn't have reached the sticks even if he did catch it, due to the number of Cardinals defenders in the area.

"Too many three-and-outs," Narduzzi said. "Got to move the sticks. We talked before the game, you can't go three-and-out. Puts our defense in a bad position."

So does turning it over on downs on the near midfield, up by a touchdown and with 13 minutes left in the game.

Louisville subsequently drove down the field in six plays to score the game-tying touchdown and would eventually go on to win the game after the " let's punt, never mind, let's go for it" snafu.

Without the coaching malpractice, Pitt could be 1-0 in the ACC.

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