Narduzzi’s final game at Michigan State, and the last New Year’s six game he coached in, was the 2015 Cotton Bowl, where the 10-2 Michigan State Spartans took on the 11-1 Baylor Bears.

The ‘Duz’s defense got boat raced for a full three quarters, and the he famously came down from the box at the end if the third to rally his troops. The tactic worked and Sparty’s defense pitched a shutout in the fourth while the Michigan State offense roared back and delivered a one-point victory in dramatic fashion.

The next day Narduzzi got on a plane for Pittsburgh, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Hail to Pitt, let’s get #12.

Michaelangelo Monteleone