Narduzzi reacts to officiating in loss to Virginia

“It’s a great question,” said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzi. “I’m sure (ACC leader of officials) Al Riveron will answer that for us on Monday or Tuesday. It’s our job to get lined up and get in position. It’s their job to get lined up and get in position as well. We had a stop on fourth and one. No explanation.”

Let’s set the scene for that play.

There was 6:06 left in the game with Virginia facing a fourth and one from the Pitt 24-yard line. It wasn’t a quick-to-the-line play, Virginia subbed in a bunch formation. They hiked the ball and Pitt made the stop, Panthers get the ball back with six minutes to play down two. Whistle blows and the lead referee, Nate Black, announced the officials were not prepared for the start of the play.

Virginia gets a free do over, converted the fourth down on the second try and ran four more minutes off the clock and added a field goal to make it a five-point game.

“At the end they got five downs,” Narduzzi said. “And haven’t seen that many times in my career. And, again, we held them to a field goal there at the end, but it ate up more time on the clock, which would have given us more time at the end, either the last possession or the second to last possession.”