Duke’s Vincent Anthony Jr. dragged Nate Yarnell down from behind on 4th-and-5 with just under two minutes left in the game, and it didn’t just end the game — it ended the Pitt season.
Pitt was sloppy, across all three phases, and it cost the Panthers a win in the season finale, falling to the Blue Devils 30-19 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. And in a season that many expected the Panthers to roar, they left with little more than a whimper.
Yarnell completed 25-of-35 pass attempts for 265 yards and two touchdowns in another strong all-around performance, but the run game was woefully ineffective, there were stretches of bone-headed decisions and sloppy play and Pitt simply wasn’t good enough — a story that has been proven true all season.
Pitt racked up just 308 yards, committed nine penalties for 93 yards and couldn’t generate much pressure at all on a true freshman Duke quarterback. And the mistakes were many and often, from the coaching staff down, and those mistakes started early.
Caleb Junko has been a problem for Pitt all season, and while he’s shanked some bad balls at times, a 15-yard boot from the end zone may have been the worst yet.
And the Blue Devils made Pitt pay — a 10-yard connection between Grayson Loftis and Jordan Moore locking the game back up at 10. I mean, Duke only needed to drive 25 yards after the shanked punt. And it was that 25-yard drive that made the difference in the first half.
Pitt allowed just 87 yards of offense in the first half, but that 25-yard drive allowed Duke to enter the halftime break with a 10-10 tie.
Nate Yarnell continued to look very comfortable leading the Pitt offense throughout much of the first half, orchestrating a 13-play, 60-yard scoring drive and a 15-play, 93-yard scoring drive — Ben Sauls nailing a 37-yard field goal on the former and Yarnell hitting Karter Johnson for a 21-yard touchdown on the latter.
As was the case against Boston College, Yarnell stood in the pocket and read the field, but he evaded pressure — for the most part — when it arrived and used his deceptive athleticism, as the ACC Network crew said, to keep the Duke defense honest.
As was the case in the first half, Pitt and Duke traded field goals to open the second half. Todd Pelino struck a 25-yarder through the uprights to take the 13-10 lead, and Sauls nailed a 47-yarder to level it once again.
But defensive breakdowns on the ensuing Duke possession set up a 15-yard walk-in touchdown for Duke wideout Jalon Calhoun, taking a quick screen into the end untouched to reclaim the lead. And after Yarnell was stripped from behind on the following Pitt possession, setting up a 2nd-and-22 from the Pitt 2, it ultimately resulted in another Junko punt.
Duke simply wore down the Pitt defense on the way to another touchdown, driving 59 yards and scoring twice — although only the 3-yard touchdown dive from Jaquez Moore counted.
Pitt trailed 27-13 with just under 12 minutes left, and what looked to be a promising drive fizzled out rather predictably with an interception in the end zone. The offense didn’t miss with another chance, Yarnell hitting Bub Means in the back of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
Pitt forced Duke into a 3rd-and-11 with about five minutes left, but the Blue Devils converted a deep ball down the sideline, Samuel Okunlola was called for a roughing the passer penalty and it sort of summed up the entire season.
Duke hit another field goal to stretch its lead to 11 points, and that was all she wrote on the Pitt season.
The 2023 season has come to an end for Pitt football, and with a 3-9 (2-6 ACC) record, it’s the worst season in a quarter-century.
This coaching staff, Off, def and Special teams should be ashamed of themselves. Pitt didn’t just have a poor season by accident it was designed, schemed and coached to this level. Just a joke. Why Heather gave him that ridiculous extension I’ll never understand.
It’s been a long time but I have said this before: Glad this lousy football season is over for the Panthers.
What a disappointment. At least they finally figured out who their QB of the future is.
I don’t like to call for firing anyone but that 2 point decision with a much needed timeout was embarrassing and stupid. Did she fire him yet?
It ain’t over. Now here comes the portal hits.
I wonder how many offensive players will say if Cignetti isn’t fired they’ll leave? Hopefully enough for him to get fired!
Think we’ll find out in the coming days who Pitt loses to the portal. I kind of expect some big names to be leaving after the disaster that was this season. If they let Cignetti go quick enough they might be able to lessen the blow. But Narduzzi needs to understand how he won a ACC title and finds an OC who knows how to run an offense that isn’t based on predictable runs up the middle.
Well, when the main ask of your QB is to not turn the ball over, I’m not expecting Narduzzi to hire a Lincoln Riley deciple.
Was trying to remain positive after last week’s win, but now I’m kinda pessimistic about next season.
Did you watch this season?
There is no one on offense who isn’t replaceable.
Bad coaching didn’t help but inferior players were also a big factor
The fact that Junko is on scholarship says it all. Dumb personnel decisions continue under Narduzzi.
Recruiting is in the shitter and it will not get better under Narduzzi. It will get much, much worse as players figure out that he cannot (and will not) put his best players on the field and set them up to succeed.
Portal will be like a fire hose with everyone leaving.
Great job Pat. Your team culture SUCKS as bad as your use of time outs.
I’m not sure but did Junko have a shank in every game?
Junko was kept for a punter because of his relative. The other punter walked out and transferred the same day. The personnel selection by Dizzy was HORRIBLE all season ….QB, running back and never using their tight end. Expect a lot of transfers out due to Dizzy’s decision making
Exactly how much time do they think they have to evaluate and make changes? The portal for “coaching change transfers” opens on Dec 4th. Penn State fired their OC for only scoring 38 points per game. Only 38? I would take Yurcich in a blink. My greatest nightmare is that he’ll bring in his old buddy Matt Canada. You know, the guy from across the South Side Complex that has gotten the Steelers all the way up to 280 yards and a whopping 16 points per game! Keep your chin up, they are only 5 teams from dead last in… Read more »