MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — Can't think of anything that more typifies the difference between West Virginia and Pittsburgh as the renewal of the Backyard Brawl rivalry between the two schools draws nearer and nearer than the fact that the Panthers' coach, Pat Narduzzi, showed up at the Atlantic Coast Conference football media days wearing a white dress shirt with the cuffs emblazoned with his name embroidered on the cuffs.
"P Narduzzi" it read, according to national college football writer Brett McMurphy.
One suspects Pitt grad Mike Ditka did not pick out his ensemble for the day, as the Panthers like to put forth a tougher image than embroidered cuffs on their dress shirt.
But the game has changed. Remember when Miami was in its heyday and showed up at the Fiesta Bowl in 1986 to play Penn State for the national championship and deplaned with the team dressed in brown-and-green army fatigue outfits?
While Penn State had arrived in blue blazers and ties, looking like a debate team, the Hurricanes came dressed for battle.
"We want everyone to know that this is going to be a war, and we are ready for it," quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde told the media that day.
The outfits had been purchased at an Army-Navy surplus store in Miami, according to fullback Alonzo Highsmith.
There was no word where Narduzzi had picked up his attire or who had coordinated his outfit, but McMurphy's Thursday tweet did say that Narduzzi replied when asked about the autographed cuffs, if you want some, "go see the suit man."
Now no one knows why Narduzzi opted to dress to kill, but there are any number of possible reasons.
Could be he was going to use it for his "off the cuff" remarks during his preview of the season.
Or was his name there simply so if he got lost, someone would be able to return him from Charlotte to the Pitt campus.
Narduzzi has been at Pitt for seven years now and is coming off a season in which his Panthers went 11-3 and won the ACC championship, although one suggests you might deduct power points for having to defeat Wake Forest rather than traditional football powers FSU, Miami or Virginia Tech in the championship game.
But with the championship trophy now in the case, Narduzzi now has an audience that listens to them and what he is saying is that the ACC title was just the first step.
The ultimate goal at Pitt is the national championship.
"We haven't done anything yet," Narduzzi said. "We would like to win a national championship. We want to be in the playoffs. We're one game last year away from being that. If you go to a 12-team playoff, we're in it.
"That's where we want to be. We're not happy with where we were last year, and we would like to win every football game."
To do that, of course, you have to win the first one, and that is the Backyard Brawl. Let's see, it was 15 years ago when Pitt burst WVU's bubble, so you know that will be mentioned once or twice in the upcoming five weeks.
Narduzzi, though, does not see national championship talk as out of place at all.
"History is a great predictor," he said. "We won nine national championships in Pittsburgh. You talk about Tony Dorsett in 1976, winning the national championship. That's the last one. That's something we're striving for.
"I think things go in circles. You look back years and years and years ago. Alabama wasn't very good. Look where they are today. Pittsburgh is the same thing. We're going to finish the circle there and get around to that. We just have to continue to build and work on that championship season."
Who knows, if they win it, maybe Narduzzi will turn down the ring and ask if they can't present him with a pair of National Champion cufflinks instead.
