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?”
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) November 15, 2025
(video via @LockedOnIrish) pic.twitter.com/BTEOKRBJlV
"No, I wanted to go celebrate," Freeman said with a smile at his postgame news conference.
What did Narduzzi say about the Notre Dame game earlier in the week?
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 had a bit of a head-scratching answer when asked if Saturday‘s contest against the Fighting Irish was a "must-win" for the then-22nd ranked Panthers.
"Absolutely not," Narduzzi said. "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 The Pat McAfee Show, shrugged off the possibility that his comments could have been fuel for Notre Dame‘s fire.
"You know what? I don’t know," Narduzzi said. "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."
Freeman takes no offense to Narduzzi‘s late timeout
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, Freeman didn't seem to have a problem 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.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Marcus Freeman Explains Brief Interaction With Pat Narduzzi After Notre Dame Win at Pitt.
