The losses sting and some of the social media chatter is hurtful, but Pitt senior center Artie Rowell is far short of losing his temper or patience.
He is one of four co-captains, though, so his seasoned hand — he's been on campus since 2011 — will be necessary over the final three weeks to guide the team out of its current slump. If that is, indeed, its direction.
Just don't ask him to call one of those distracting players-only meetings.
“Players meetings are for bad teams,” he said. “To get up in front of a players' meeting and start shouting stuff is a distraction.”
He has what he believes is a better solution:
“Everybody needs to do their job.”
That's the best way, but Rowell admitted the days immediately following Pitt's second consecutive loss (42-30 to Notre Dame last Saturday) haven't been easy.
“You try not to get down, but it's tough when you invest a lot into something, your time, your energy,” he said. “That's what's heartbreaking.
“It's tough, but that's my job and with that being said, things in the locker room are focused on the next game.”
That is Saturday at Duke, where Pitt opens the final quarter of the regular season against a team that has scored 106 points against the Panthers in the past two seasons.
To win the ACC Coastal Division, Pitt needs to win all three games and have North Carolina lose two (among Miami on Saturday, next week in Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer's final home game before retirement or the finale at N.C. State).
“We can't control that at this point,” Rowell said, “but we can control going out and doing our best this weekend against Duke, and whatever happens with the rest of the teams happens.”
Narduzzi is focused on Duke, but he still looks at the ACC standings and how others are doing — even if he sometimes insists otherwise.
“You watch how some of these games finish every week,” he said. “There's something crazy going on every week in college football. Anybody can beat anybody on any given Saturday.
“If we win our three games, whether we get to that championship game or not, it's a nine-win season for Pitt.”
Pitt (6-3, 4-1) may not get a plaque or a nationally televised title game for winning nine times, but it has won that many only three times since 1982. There's plenty at stake.
Rowell understands there also are several areas in which to improve.
The Panthers have started slow the past three games. They haven't scored a first-quarter touchdown since the Georgia Tech game Oct. 17.
“You need to give (opponents) our best shot, and I don't think we gave North Carolina or Notre Dame our best shot,” he said. “For whatever reason, I don't know.
“You can beat lesser teams like that, but you're not going to beat better teams like that.”
Meanwhile, Rowell does get angry when outsiders question the team's attitude. He said he hasn't heard a lot of that, but enough for it to matter.
“When people say fans take it harder than the players, that really bothers me,” he said. “Because I put 30, 40, sometimes 50 hours a week into this. To say I don't care if we lose, that bothers me.
“Honestly, it's social media stuff. You have to do your best to get off of that as soon as possible.”
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
He is one of four co-captains, though, so his seasoned hand — he's been on campus since 2011 — will be necessary over the final three weeks to guide the team out of its current slump. If that is, indeed, its direction.
Just don't ask him to call one of those distracting players-only meetings.
“Players meetings are for bad teams,” he said. “To get up in front of a players' meeting and start shouting stuff is a distraction.”
He has what he believes is a better solution:
“Everybody needs to do their job.”
That's the best way, but Rowell admitted the days immediately following Pitt's second consecutive loss (42-30 to Notre Dame last Saturday) haven't been easy.
“You try not to get down, but it's tough when you invest a lot into something, your time, your energy,” he said. “That's what's heartbreaking.
“It's tough, but that's my job and with that being said, things in the locker room are focused on the next game.”
That is Saturday at Duke, where Pitt opens the final quarter of the regular season against a team that has scored 106 points against the Panthers in the past two seasons.
To win the ACC Coastal Division, Pitt needs to win all three games and have North Carolina lose two (among Miami on Saturday, next week in Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer's final home game before retirement or the finale at N.C. State).
“We can't control that at this point,” Rowell said, “but we can control going out and doing our best this weekend against Duke, and whatever happens with the rest of the teams happens.”
Narduzzi is focused on Duke, but he still looks at the ACC standings and how others are doing — even if he sometimes insists otherwise.
“You watch how some of these games finish every week,” he said. “There's something crazy going on every week in college football. Anybody can beat anybody on any given Saturday.
“If we win our three games, whether we get to that championship game or not, it's a nine-win season for Pitt.”
Pitt (6-3, 4-1) may not get a plaque or a nationally televised title game for winning nine times, but it has won that many only three times since 1982. There's plenty at stake.
Rowell understands there also are several areas in which to improve.
The Panthers have started slow the past three games. They haven't scored a first-quarter touchdown since the Georgia Tech game Oct. 17.
“You need to give (opponents) our best shot, and I don't think we gave North Carolina or Notre Dame our best shot,” he said. “For whatever reason, I don't know.
“You can beat lesser teams like that, but you're not going to beat better teams like that.”
Meanwhile, Rowell does get angry when outsiders question the team's attitude. He said he hasn't heard a lot of that, but enough for it to matter.
“When people say fans take it harder than the players, that really bothers me,” he said. “Because I put 30, 40, sometimes 50 hours a week into this. To say I don't care if we lose, that bothers me.
“Honestly, it's social media stuff. You have to do your best to get off of that as soon as possible.”
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
