PITTSBURGH — Pitt’s offense had just 177 total yards in their Week 10 loss (28-0) at Virginia Tech on Saturday. That sort of performance couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time for the Panthers as they were battling for the ACC Coastal.
Pitt has scored only 9 points per game in their four losses and nearly 27 in their seven wins this season.
Pitt needed to win in Blacksburg to have any shot at a 10 season, which they haven’t done since 2009. The loss also eliminated them from contention of capturing an ACC Coastal Division championship.
But besides reaching those numerical goals, Pitt’s offense failed to show up on the football field in a game that they should have been more than up for the challenge.
“(We) obviously started out rough, with a couple of drops,” wide receivers coach Chris Beatty said. “I don’t think we dealt with the weather that well — As an offense and particularly as receivers.”
The Panthers were charged with six drops against the Hokies and several other misthrows from quarterback Kenny Pickett. Pitt only carried the ball 15 times, so with the lack of a running game, they tried to depend on the depleted passing game even more.
“Everyone drops balls,” Beatty said. “At some point, you just move on and go to the next one. You don’t want to let one week beat you two weeks, and that’s kind of the deal (right now).
Senior wide receiver Aaron Mathews is looking forward to his final two games in a Pitt uniform and wants to put the performance at Virginia Tech in the past.
“(We) are just worrying about the next play,” Mathews said. “You can’t do anything about (that performance) now. But we can do something about it on Saturday (against Boston College).”
Boston College ranks No. 13 in the ACC in total defense, allowing 32.5 points per game this season. Pitt has a substantial opportunity to grasp some offensive momentum with Pickett in charge while heading into their Bowl game and inevitably next season.
“We get to play one more here at Heinz,” Head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “We are going to play for our senior class, and we are going to play for the 2019 season.”
I love this program and think Narduzzi it the man to take us to the next level (I hope). However, he is way to stubborn to make it happen as quickly as we all want. Years ago we didn’t have the DBs for man coverage, yet we stayed in man, and got embarrassed over and over again by most passing teams. Adjustments need to be made for the players you have on the field and at halftime. If receivers drop the ball over and over, put in freshman and give them a chance to make a play. Also, I agree… Read more »
It’s obvious last week’s game was VT’s Super Bowl. Giving up 39-points to UVA, helluva of a send off for Bud Foster.