Pitt Football: 3 takeaways from Quick Lane Bowl win vs. Eastern Michigan

1. Pat Narduzzi likely saved his job with the win

Although Pitt’s AD has backed him several times, including recently stating that he’s progressed the program, Pat Narduzzi had to feel as if his seat was heating up. He’s been hovering around the 7-8 win total for the past few years which is solid, but he needs something to get him over the top and competing for titles in the ACC.

After the first half of the Quick Lane Bowl, it seemed like his time as head coach may be coming to an end as he trailed Eastern Michigan 20-17. It wasn’t the fact that the Panthers trailed Eastern, but rather that the Eagles weren’t exactly known for scoring points in bunches and Pittsburgh couldn’t seem to get many stops.

The Pitt defense only surrendered 10 points in the second half — all of which came in the fourth quarter — and the Panthers found a way to win, keeping Narduzzi off the hot seat for another offseason.

If he had lost, there may have been talk about the head coaching search getting underway as Narduzzi couldn’t seem to break the 7-8 win plateau but he will get another year to prove himself.

If Narduzzi can’t win 8-9 regular season games next season, we might be talking about a coaching change in Pittsburgh, no matter if the Panthers make a bowl game or not.