Everything Pitt Head Coach Pat Narduzzi Said About Rich Rod, West Virginia

It's Backyard Brawl week. And as we do each week, we take a peek over to the other sideline to see what the opposing coach is saying about the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi held his weekly press conference this afternoon. Here's everything he said about WVU and this week's game.

Initial thoughts on the matchup with West Virginia

"Rich Rodriguez, obviously a fantastic football coach. He's been around. He's done a lot of different things. He's won a lot of football games. He's a heck of a coach, and it will be a heck of a ballgame down there down in that atmosphere in Morgantown. We're excited about that. Coach Rodriguez calls the plays on offense. He's a dynamic play-caller. Saw him when he was at Michigan. Had a chance to face him when I was at Cincinnati for two years, when they were a top 10 football team. They were unbelievable. Those were some great teams back in the day, and I know that's what Rich Rod is trying to get back to that type of football team.

What he sees from West Virginia's offense

"Nicco Marchiol is the starting quarterback. They'll play three quarterbacks. Not like last week. But he (Marchiol) does a fantastic job. The other guy to take notes on is Cam Vaughn. He's a Jacksonville State transfer. A total of 28 transfers in their two-deep, but Cam Vaughn, we've got to know where he is. Their tight end, Grayson Barnes, is a deep threat. I think he's got four catches — we've got to know where he is."

What he sees from West Virginia's defense

"The defensive coordinator, Zac Alley, does a great job. He's very multiple on defense. They'll play some four down, three down, a bunch of different three down fronts — they'll get into a bear look. They do a bunch of different coverages. They've been fun to watch. The one thing I'll say about a West Virginia football program is they will be tough and they'll play with great effort. If you put the tape on, you'll see them flying around. They are playing hard. He's got them playing really hard and tough, and physical."

Significance of the rivalry

"I've been in a lot of rivalry games throughout my career, and it's just another one that it has to be Pitt-West Virginia. There's a lot of hatred in the game. I think the fans hate each other, and it goes way, way back. There's lots of scars that people have that they haven't gotten over them yet. But for us, as a football team, what happens in the crowd and the stands, and when we're driving in on the bus, none of that matters. What happens on that football field is going to matter."

West Virginia coming off a loss vs. Pitt entering 2-0

"I'd say advantage West Virginia. We're feeling good at 2-0, and they had a tough loss. They will be prepared. Rich Rodriguez will get them prepared. They'll have a great week of practice. We will get their best game, like we always do. They will be intense, tough, physical, play fast — that's what we expect. Whether they won or lost, I'm expecting the same thing, but I think we'll probably face even an angrier team and angrier fan base."

Thoughts on Clay Ash

"He's a 5'9", 194-pound guy, No. 27. That dude sticks it up in there. He is a physical dude. I can see why Coach Rodriguez likes this kid as their number two tailback. Obviously, Jahiem (White's) got a little more juice, but this other guy has got a different pace. He looks like (Cam) Skattebo. He's a physical dude."

What WVU's defense does well

"A bunch of things. When you look at where they are defensively in the country, red zone defense, I know, is really good. Pass efficiency, they're 38th in the country. They're better than we are. They're going to mix it up. That's what they do well. They're going to try to trick you and change things up and confuse your offensive linemen."

The future of the Backyard Brawl

"We'd obviously like to see the game get played. It's going to get picked up in 2029, so it's going to be a while until we play them again. There's nothing I can do about it. I'd like this game to be played. I'd like to play Penn State. I'd like to play any rivalry game. I think having that on the schedule is great for the players and the fans."