Urban Meyer convinced Pat Narduzzi quote downplaying Notre Dame game must be AI

By this point, it’s become cliché to accuse something you don’t believe to be real as being AI. But when it comes to Pat Narduzzi publicly downplaying Pitt’s upcoming matchup against Notre Dame, Urban Meyer had no choice but to believe that he had been fooled by new technology.

For the uninitiated, Narduzzi was asked at a press conference earlier this week whether the Panthers’ upcoming game was a must-win. The 59-year-old head coach, however, didn’t just deny that to be the case, but also took his analysis a step further.

“Absolutely not. It is not an ACC game,” Narduzzi said. “I’m glad you brought that up. It’s not an ACC game. I’d gladly get beat 103 or 110-10 in that game, they can put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that. But again, our focus is on Notre Dame and getting as many wins as we can.”

NEW: Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi on whether Notre Dame game is a ‘must-win’:

“Absolutely not, It is not an ACC game. I’m glad you brought that up. It’s not an ACC game. I’d gladly get beat 103 or 110-10 in that game. They could put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two… pic.twitter.com/7mA3xmxMrM

— On3 (@On3sports) November 10, 2025

Suffice it to say, it isn’t often that you hear a college head coach say that he’d “gladly” let an opponent beat his team by such a margin, regardless of the circumstances. And that was also evident in Meyer’s reaction to the quote, which he joked must have been fake.

“That’s AI. He didn’t say that. No, bullsh*t,” Meyer said on his podcast, The Triple Option. “He didn’t say that. That’s AI. That’s that fake stuff. What the hell are you talking about?… I talked to him, and that’s a great football coach, man. Intense sucker. I’m telling you, it’s AI. I don’t believe it… his team is going to be playing their ass off to be winning that game. What are you talking about?”

While host Rob Stone suggested Narduzzi’s comments were “mental warfare,” it’s also possible that he simply got over his skis by pointing out that a loss to Notre Dame wouldn’t hurt its status in the ACC and, thus, its College Football Playoff chances. Then again, if the Panthers do lose by nearly 100 points to the Fighting Irish but go on to win the ACC Championship game, it’s hard to imagine them receiving an automatic qualifying bid as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.

For what it’s worth, Narduzzi is scheduled to join The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, where the former All-Pro punter has already promised to ask about the quote.