Falling to the Penn State Nittany Lions, 17-10, on Saturday at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, Pat Narduzzi and the Pittsburgh Panthers dropped to 1-2 on the season.

Scoring all 10 of their points in the second quarter, the Panthers had a golden opportunity to score when they reached the Penn State one-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Trailing 17-10 with 5:03 remaining, Pitt was faced with 4th & Goal from the two-yard line. Narduzzi elected to attempt a 19-yard field goal, which was missed off the left upright by redshirt junior Alex Kessman.

Asked about his ultra-conservative decision postgame, Narduzzi stood by his call.

Craig Meyer, Pitt Athletics beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, shared some comments from the coach:

Narduzzi’s belief in his choice is admirable, but his first statement is factually incorrect. Down 17-10 at the time, it was a one-score game. If the Panthers had punched it in the end zone, they could have attempted a two-point conversion for the lead.

Their second straight ranked opponent, Pitt faces No. 17 UCF on September 21 at 3:30PM ET.

Improving to 3-0 with the close call, No. 13 Penn State is off until Friday, September 27 when they travel to College Park to face the No. 21 Maryland Terrapins.