Sports

Marcus Freeman Snubs Pat Narduzzi’s Prolonged Handshake After Pittsburgh Called Stupid Timeout

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Marcus Freeman Pat Narduzzi Handshake Snub
© MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Marcus Freeman did not want to stick around and talk to Pat Narduzzi after Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh on Saturday. The victorious college football coach “wanted to go celebrate” with his team.

Sure, Jan.

There have been far more disrespectful snubs between college football coaches in the past and there will surely be more to come. That does not mean the message was not loud and clear!

Pittsburgh called a stupid timeout against Notre Dame.

There was a lot of hype leading up to the top-25 matchup between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. College Gameday chose not to go to the Battle of the Ravine so it could go live from the Steel City. Both teams are still in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. The Irish wanted to prove they aren’t frauds.

However, Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi spoiled a lot of the excitement with a ridiculous comment on Monday. He said he did not care if Pitt won or lost because the non-conference matchup did not have an impact on his team’s standing within the ACC.

While true, that is a truly ridiculous thing for a head coach to say.

Of course, Narduzzi walked back his comment during a live hit on College Gameday. He was apparently trying to keep the pressure off of his players.

“The most important thing is our football team,” Narduzzi said. “We’ve got a great football team and the most important thing is our guys in that team room and their belief. I think our guys have a ton of belief in what we have, ability-wise, tomorrow at noon. That’s the only thing that matters is what our kids think.”

When asked whether the comment was a bit of gamesmanship, Narduzzi chuckled.

“You know what, I don’t know,” he 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. It’s about executing one play at a time and we’ll get it done.”

They did not get it done. Jeremiyah Love got loose with a ridiculous spin move to open things up early.

Trae Johnson scored on a pick-six just a few moments later to effectively put the game out of reach before the halfway mark in the first quarter.

Notre Dame went on to beat Pitt by a final score of 37-15.

However, the Panthers called a timeout with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to score a touchdown on the very last play of the game so the final score did not reflect the true reality of the beatdown.

The timeout was completely unnecessary. There was absolutely no need to cut the deficit to 22 points right as the clock expired. The game was already over. Just take the loss.

Marcus Freeman snubbed Pat Narduzzi.

As is customary, both head coaches met each other at midfield after the game. They shook hands, briefly.

Pat Narduzzi wanted to stop and talk to Marcus Freeman. Freeman wasn’t having it. He showed his respect to his opponent and immediately got out of there as soon as possible.

When asked about the exchange, the Irish head coach gave a very simple answer with a smile.

“I wanted to go celebrate.”

Enough said. Surely it had nothing to do with the comments throughout the week or the timeout!