Pitt hasn’t been perfect against Boston College tonight, but Nate Yarnell is giving the Panthers a chance to pull out their third win of the season.
Yarnell, who earned his first start of the season against Boston College, led Pitt on a 15-play, 85-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter — capping the drive with a 4-yard touchdown drive to give the Panthers an early 10-3 lead.
And he was even more impressive on a 4-play, 90-yard drive in the third quarter, pump-faking the Boston College defense and hitting Bub Means in stride for a 61-yard touchdown to retake a 17-13 lead.
He’s completed 9-of-14 pass attempts for 186 yards and a touchdown — and added four carries for 20 yards and another touchdown through two-and-a-half quarters.
Yarnell was inserted late last weekend against Syracuse, with the outcome all but decided considering the flow of the game, and he completed 3-of-5 pass attempts for 48 yards in relief. He played in two games before earning the start against Boston College, completing 5-of-8 pass attempts (62.5%) for 123 yards with a touchdown.
Yarnell did his job in a win against Western Michigan last season, completing 9-of-12 pass attempts for 179 yards and a touchdown, and he completed 1-of-2 pass attempts for a 16-yard dart against UCLA in the Sun Bowl. But he has just 17 pass attempts over two-and-a-half collegiate seasons.
He will now look to show something greater in his first extended action of the season, and perhaps, show that Pitt has a quarterback option heading forward into the 2024 season. He’s doing well so far.
Makes one wonder, what Narduzzi and his bunch of obtuse offensive coaches can’t see in the kid Yarnell, he is obviously superior to any other Q B. on the roster. Pretty clear as of now the head guy and staff would rather play favorites than the best players come hell or high water. They should all be let go and a competent talent evaluator and open minded head man and his staff take over, ending this clown show.
Sometimes the right person isn’t the most talented. Nate made quick decisions last night and that was the deciding factor. Took a sack last night and kept possession, Castellanos pitched one under pressure and was called for grounding.
Let’s beat the Blue Devils.
Duzz has to accept the fact, he isn’t a talented offensive coordinator evaluator and move on to a young stud to replace Cignetti. Only two coordinators pass the smell test and both took significant pay increases to leave.
Yarnell’s TD pass to Bub Means was smart and a thing of beauty. Without the pump-fake, that play does not succeed. It is rare to see such a pump-fake executed so well even by most QB’s in the NFL. You don’t teach that. Yarnell has a high ceiling and it’s a shame that the coaches allow themselves to be blinded by pride and playing favorites. Time to bring in at least the right OC to maximize the offensive talent.