Takeaways: Pitt Will Lament Failed Upset Bid Against Florida State

PITTSBURGH — The box score doesn’t look pretty, the game itself wasn’t pretty if you watched it, but the Pitt defense was completely and utterly left out to dry.

This isn’t like last weekend — the Pitt defense didn’t wither down the stretch as it did against Notre Dame last weekend. The defensive unit gave Pitt a chance to at least make it competitive late well into the second half.

“Again, like I said, the defense played really hard today, and that’s what I was looking for,” Pat Narduzzi said after the game. “I didn’t see that in the second half last week. I felt like they were just worried about what was going on with the whole team, and they just needed to take care of their business.

“Defense plays defense. Offense plays offense. Special teams has to play. We just have to lock into what we do and take care of what you can control. Control the controllables.”

But Pitt obviously didn’t do enough to win. So, it’s kind of a moot point anyway. So, without further ado, let’s dive into some takeaways.

Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Bub Means (0) November 4, 2023 David Hague/PSN

The Offense Still Isn’t Good 

I don’t know how many times this needs to be rehashed. It hasn’t changed in two months. It’s not going to change over the next month.

I mean, Pitt was trying to establish the run midway through the fourth quarter, trailing by 17, with extended huddles and handoffs to Rodney Hammond Jr. What is the end goal? There wasn’t an ounce of urgency. No burning desire to go out and try to win the game.

It’s not working, it’s not going to suddenly change and that’s just how it is. It will only change this offseason. That’s about all we’ve got at this point. Veilleux is the guy — for now.

“Right now he is,” Narduzzi said. “Again, Christian made some plays. He got pressure. He got sacked three times. All those things. We can continue to talk, but Christian, he threw one pick today, and it was not a good one, but…”

You just can’t go 0-of-11 on third down conversions. That’s a good way to lose every game.

Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Solomon DeShields (23) November 4, 2023 David Hague/PSN

The Defense Still is Good 

It doesn’t look like it with 501 yards allowed, but the Pitt defense played admirably. It played more than well enough to knock off the ‘Noles.

When the offense can’t complement the defense, it’s going to lead to failure. And that’s what happened against Florida State. It wasn’t a perfect performance, screens hurt the Panthers at times, but it was enough to compete.

“I’ve been around it before as a defensive coordinator,” Narduzzi said. “We have to take care of our business. You can’t worry. You put blinders on and can’t worry about it. I always say this to defenses. ‘Hey, if we shut them out, we win, right?’ They shut them out. That’s our attitude on defense.”

The only way Pitt would’ve won either game over the last two weeks would be if the defense either completely shut out its opponents or allowed just a field goal or two. A touchdown per game isn’t sustainable, not even for Iowa.

There’s a lot of potential on the defense. Samuel Okunlola looks like a future star on the edge, and Jimmy Scott and Sean FitzSimmons both have futures. Braylan Lovelace, Jordan Bass, Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles have potential. Javon McIntyre is a very good safety.

It’s a good unit right now, and it should be a loaded unit down the line, too. It just deserved better against Florida State.

Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi November 4, 2023 David Hague/PSN

Coaching Was An Issue

Two Pat Narduzzi timeouts stand out after the loss, both in the second quarter.

1. A timeout right before a 3rd-and-goal from the 1
2. A timeout right before a 32-yard field goal attempt

Pitt seemed to have stuffed Jordan Travis on 3rd-and-goal at the 1, but the play didn’t count as Narduzzi called a timeout. Timeout ensues, team come back out and Pitt tries to sub before the play, doesn’t get its personnel in place and Travis punches it in for a touchdown.

“To me, it’s a coaching error,” Narduzzi said. “I told our guys, get that sub personnel in based on the defense. We can put 15 guys on the field if we want to, and then as soon as we call it, those guys come off, and we didn’t get that done. That’s on the coaches. I believe we would have stopped them, too, if we would have got those guys out quicker.”

Narduzzi then called a timeout, seemingly icing ‘Noles kicker Ryan Fitzgerald with 34 seconds left in the first half. It was Pitt’s second timeout. Fitzgerald nailed it.

Pitt comes out and picks up 20 on the first play after Fitzgerald kicked it out of bounds, setting up a chance for the Panthers to at least get some points late. A Hail Mary fell incomplete a few plays later as Pitt was unable to get close enough to attempt a field goal. Sure would’ve been nice to have an extra timeout there.

Pitt needed a team effort across every phase, and that clearly didn’t happen. And I don’t think the offensive game plan needs to be discussed at length anymore.

Penalties Continue to Hurt the Panthers 

The Gavin Bartholomew unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and the entire Konata Mumpfield fumble sequence are hard to stomach. But the presnap infractions, holds and bone-headed illegal equipment penalty on the punt return are inexcusable.

And it’s left Narduzzi grasping for straws at this point.

“We have to be more disciplined,” Narduzzi said. “We coach it every day. We go through the penalties every day that we haven’t practiced. It’s focus, and I think C’Bo had two. He is a captain now. Congratulations to him.

“But, you know, it’s focus. We snap the ball every day in practice, and we have to be better. I don’t know what to do.”

The penalties ultimately come back to coaching, every member of the Pitt coaching staff will tell you that, and it’s true. The coaching staff has not done a good enough job preparing its players week in and week out. Pitt has played nine games and racked up the most penalties in the ACC. And it all comes back to coaching those finer details and making sure that the players are put in the best position to succeed.

Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Nate Temple (6) November 4, 2023 David Hague/PSN

Three to Go 

Well, we know Pitt isn’t going to a bowl game this season. The best-case scenario now is a 5-7 season — winning the remaining three against Syracuse, Boston College and Duke.

It’s not exactly a Murderer’s Row, but it’s also not as if Pitt has shown any reason why it should be expected to win any of the three contests either.

Pitt hasn’t finished with a two-win season since 1998, a 2-9 debacle under Walt Harris, but the Panthers will fall to 2-10 with losses over the next three weeks. And there hasn’t been a double-digit loss season since 1972.

There’s no longer any postseason play to strive for, but there’s pride, individual honor and next-level aspirations at stake over the next three weeks, too. It hasn’t been the season that anyone wanted, but Pitt can still finish strong. Because, well, that’s all the Panthers are able to do at this point.