Pat Narduzzi has never sugar-coated anything when it comes to football.
That includes his thoughts on his team's performance in a victory in the Backyard Brawl.
Yes, a win is a win, but emotion removed brings forward honest opinions and analysis about where the 17th-ranked Panthers lie with the Johnny Majors Classic approaching on Saturday afternoon.
"I think handling success this week, when you kind of played (crappy) -- let's just put it that way -- I think it makes it a little bit easier," Narduzzi said. "How about that? If (the players) can get excited about that, then good for them. You didn't see me dancing around in the locker room, OK, and there will be no dancing."
Point received. You won't be catching him going viral on TikTok any time soon, I suppose.
Of course, the use of the word "crappy" is replaced with a censored version of the word, which Narduzzi utilized three separate times during his Monday press conference on the South Side.
He utilized the adjective when describing his team's play, but that doesn't necessarily reflect on the players. Week 1 brings a Pandora's box of options to prepare for, and it's not that Narduzzi had his team unprepared for some of what West Virginia threw at them.
Perhaps, it was a sense of being overprepared.
"It starts with me. Any time we're (crappy), it starts right here," Narduzzi said, raising his hand. "(Crappy) head coach. It trickles down to not making plays.
"I think sometimes for openers you can have too much in because you're not sure what you're going to get, and I think defensively it started with having too many things in that you're worried about. What if they do this; what if they do that; we'd better have that in; we'd better have this in; we'd better have some of this, too. You've got to have a flavor of everything in, and sometimes you put too many flavors in, you're going to have a problem."
There's no sugar-coating this: Even with earning the win, Pitt did not play its cleanest game against West Virginia.
The Mountaineers' 190 rushing yards were the most allowed by Pitt since 2019, when it allowed 264 to Boston College. The Mountaineers ran for 5.8 yards per carry, which included a seven-carry, 125-yard breakout day from "tight end" CJ Donaldson.
Tony Mathis gained 76 yards on 16 carries -- 4.4 yards per. Mountaineers running backs lost just five yards in total on 28 carries.
"I think that helps you a ton of knowing what you're going to get, what you do need, don't need, what you've got to be ready for, and you always want to have enough in in case they do something different," Narduzzi said. "But, I just feel like we practiced too much of stuff which doesn't give your kids an opportunity to be cleaner. So I think that'll help us."
Also factoring against Pitt on Thursday were a nine-catch, 97-yard outing from Bryce Ford-Wheaton, and a pair of self-inflicted mistakes which included an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on Panthers defensive end Haba Baldonaldo and a blocked Sam Vander Haar punt that later resulted in a West Virginia touchdown.
Tennessee (1-0) surely would take advantage of these mistakes, as well. The Volunteers hung 59 points on Mid-American Conference foe Ball State in their opener, and Narduzzi is aware of the potential for high scoring on Saturday with the Vols' spread offense.
"They do certain things," Narduzzi said. "They take advantage of you. They have what we call these 'max splits,' and they're going to spread you out. You're going to be in man coverage all day, even if you don't want to be in man coverage. You want to be in Cover 3? Good luck to you.
"Their favorite formation is having two detached receivers in the offensive line. The quarterback and running back are going to be in this little podium area here and then everybody else is going to be lined up way out there, and that's what they do. They spread you out."
Hendon Hooker -- not Joe Milton -- will be under center for Josh Heupel's Vols on Saturday. Hooker completed 18 of 25 passes for 221 yards and two TDs against the Cardinals before ceding duties to Milton, who went 8-for-9 with 113 yards and a TD. Hooker added two rushing TDs.
Milton started last year's game against the Panthers in Knoxville, but a second-quarter injury kept him out for the rest of the game in favor of the Virginia Tech transfer Hooker.
That game is difficult to draw projections from, given the lack of a Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison on Pitt's side, and an anticipated improved Tennessee defense which ranked 90th in Football Bowl Subdivision last year.
Plus, Hooker will be playing all four quarters. While Milton might be the better passer of the two, Hooker's playmaking ability is undeniable.
"You look at where he is right now compared to where he was two years ago when he was at Virginia Tech, two totally different guys," Narduzzi said. "That's obviously a tribute. That's no slam on what Virginia Tech did with him, but he fits into that offense, and his quarterback coach is coaching the heck out of him, and I think he's really, really sharp."
Just as Narduzzi is looking for improvements from his team, Heupel isn't drawing too much stock from Tennessee's blowout win.
Heupel noted Pitt is "a big test for us" and that Pitt's defense is a "veteran group that plays extremely hard" and is "physically mature."
"Last week has nothing to do with this coming week," Heupel said as his press conference in Knoxville. "A year ago has nothing to do with what's going to happen this week. Perform the right way. The way that you do that is you prepare the right way. That's in the film room, making sure we're gaining an edge on that side of it, prepare for it, practice in a great way, and be ready to go compete."
"OR" HAMMOND
In Pitt's second depth chart of the season, Rodney Hammond is now listed right after Israel Abanikanda with an "OR" designation as the team's starting running back.
This shouldn't come as a surprise, after Hammond bounded for 129 total yards and two TDs on 18 touches on Thursday. Abanikanda had nine touches and half the amount of carries (eight) as Hammond (16). Daniel Carter should resume as the team's goal-line back after his inside-the-5 TD run. Vincent Davis and C'Bo Flemister are listed as the third- and fourth-string running backs, respectively.
INJURY WATCH
Narduzzi wouldn't comment on defensive end Deslin Alexandre or Hammond's statuses for Saturday's game. Alexandre left the Backyard Brawl with an apparent arm injury, and Rodney Hammond walked into the post-game press conference with a walking boot on his right foot after getting rolled up on after getting hit by WVU's Wesley McCormick.
After the Backyard Brawl, however, Narduzzi said that Alexandre would be "fine, and we'll further evaluate that on Monday."
This answer on injuries is the norm for Narduzzi, who referred to a text message from Brandon Hill's mother that he received during training camp, after another reporter asked him about a potential injury during training camp.
"Adrienne, she said -- this is August 14th -- 'Hey, Coach Narduzzi. I saw the interview on Friday where the reporter asked about Brandon. Thank you for respecting his medical privacy. It looked like that question (teed) you off. Thank you for caring about your players. I can see you care about all of them.'
"It goes on and on, and some emojis. That's from Brandon Hill's mother. Parents to me, that's the first ever I got from a parent. I was like, you know what, I guess I'm not screwing it up too bad."
Tight end Karter Johnson tweeted on Friday that he was moved out of the hospital ICU and was set to go home Saturday, after missing the Backyard Brawl for what Narduzzi deemed as an infection. An update on his status was not provided on Monday.