Pat Narduzzi didn’t flinch. Not after losing starters, not in the noise, not with a ranked opponent staring him down.
“It was a heck of a gutsy win by our guys on the road,” the Pitt coach said following his team’s 34–31 upset of No. 25 Florida State. “It’s never easy to go on the road playing a talented, really good Florida State football team. That tells you what talent we’ve got in that room.”
Freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns, adding 64 on the ground. “He finished the game the way you want your quarterback to finish it,” Narduzzi said.
More: Mike Norvell takes blame for loss to Pitt
The biggest lift came from Desmond Reid, who returned to haul in eight passes for 155 yards and two scores. “We’re obviously a different offense when Desmond’s out there,” Narduzzi said. “He’s just a special, special player.”
Pitt’s opening drive lasted eight minutes and included three fourth-down conversions. “That’s demoralizing to a defense,” Narduzzi said. “Our O-line did an unbelievable job today. They were talking a lot of trash about how they weren’t any good. Well, I guess they were pretty damn good.”
Defensively, the Panthers limited FSU to 42 rushing yards. Kavir Bains-Marquez led with 13 tackles, while Kyle Louis had 11 and recovered the onside kick that sealed it. “Our guys fought,” Narduzzi said. “They executed and they finished. We’ve been this close to being undefeated. I think we’ve got one heck of a football team.”
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