PITTSBURGH _ This is Pat Narduzzi's second season as the head coach at Pittsburgh, so he's never had the chance to experience the heightened intensity _ not to mention the bad blood _ that used to mark the Panthers' 96-game rivalry with Penn State.
However, with the two teams preparing to end a 16-year hiatus and meet Saturday at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Narduzzi wants to make sure his team's preparation time is unaffected, which is why he told reporters Monday that his players would be off-limits for interviews all week.
"I'd like to be the only voice this week," Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly news conference. "I'd like to eliminate all distractions, so we're going to close off practice this week to the media. We aren't going to have our players talk. This week we're going to stay locked in. Every minute (of preparation) is important and that's an attitude for our football team right now to be able to do that."
The intrastate rivals are beginning a four-year series this season that will alternate between Pittsburgh and Happy Valley. The most recent game of the series came in 2000 when the Panthers shut down the Nittany Lions and gained a 12-0 win at Three Rivers Stadium.
Pitt opened its season Saturday with a 28-7 home victory over Villanova. Narduzzi said he felt his players were "locked in, (but) we just didn't execute like we would like to."
As for Penn State, the coach said that while "every game is the same ... this one is a little bit different." He said he wants his players to "embrace that tradition and embrace this game."
"We're going to pound on (the rivalry) this week," he said. "I know when I first got into a major rivalry, I didn't get it the first year. I got it the second year. I want to make sure they don't do the same. It's my job to make sure they embrace it and understand what it's all about."
Having grown up in nearby Youngstown, Ohio, Narduzzi heard a lot about the rivalry. When his father was an assistant coach at Kentucky in the 1970s, he became friends with Todd Blackledge, whose father was on the same staff. Blackledge quarterbacked Penn State to one of its most memorable wins of the series, a 48-14 victory over the then-No. 1 Panthers in 1981.
"We used to go over to his garage and box," Narduzzi said. "Those are the games I remember _ the Pitt-Penn State games with Todd Blackledge. He's still a close friend of the family."
Penn State opened its season with a 33-13 win over Kent State at Beaver Stadium. Narduzzi said that quarterback Trace McSorley must be watched closely by the entire Pitt defense because of his ability to run as well as pass. He called Saquon Barkley "maybe the best tailback in the country."
Narduzzi, as well as Penn State coach James Franklin, knows what the game means for recruiting. The Panthers coach acknowledged that some young players grow up as Pitt or Penn State fans their entire lives and will follow their dreams no matter what, but that there is significance in a game like this.
"It does play a major factor in the end," he said. "Kids want to play for a winner. They want to know which ship is floating and strong."
