Takeaways: Sloppy Play Doesn’t Damper Nice Opening Pitt Win

PITTSBURGH — I couldn’t help but think back to how I felt after Pitt beat Wofford by 38 points in last season’s opener.

It’s one more touchdown than Pitt beat Kent State by, but maybe surprisingly, I’m more encouraged by this season’s result. I didn’t feel great last season. I need to see more this season still, but I think Pitt is trending up.

You can chalk that ominous feeling last season up to it being a season opener, you’re playing against an FCS opponent and don’t want to give too much away, whatever. I just didn’t feel great about it. Pitt was the better team, obviously, but especially offensively, it just didn’t feel good.

I didn’t feel like that against Kent State.

The Golden Flashes weren’t very good last season, and even though Pitt was sloppy and has a lot to clean up, I had no doubts that Pitt was the better squad across all three phases Saturday afternoon in a 55-24 victory.

Pat Narduzzi was happy with the overall result.

“I thought really all three phases did some good things,” Narduzzi said following the game. “All three phases did some stuff we’ve got to clean up. Opening day issues, whether it be a muffed punt by Konata (Mumpfield) trying to make a play, just some stuff like that that’s got to get cleaned up. Jumping over a punch shield, which we can’t do, which we coach every single day, but guys trying to be aggressive.

“Too many penalties early in the game. All on us. But overall, game one, there will be a lot to teach from the video, and happy with where we are at this point.”

Quarterback Competition?

I don’t think the fact that Eli Holstein just played his first college game against Kent State is being mentioned enough.

Holstein looked good. I don’t want to proclaim him as the next Kenny Pickett or anything; he was just good. Dare I say great? He came out throwing, hitting his first seven passes (including a 46-yard over-the-shoulder toss to Kenny Johnson down the sideline), and he didn’t stop throwing.

He completed 29-of-39 pass attempts (74%) for 330 yards and three touchdowns. We can talk about the interception later.

Let’s start with the positives. Holstein was a quick, effective decision-maker. He got the ball out, threw with touch and anticipation (and some beautiful touchdowns) and flashed a live arm.

The negatives? He wasn’t always the best decision-maker. But that’s what you should expect out of a quarterback making his college debut. The interception, an ill-advised lob in the red zone as he fell away from the play, is a teaching moment.

Narduzzi was happy with Holstein’s play.

“I thought early, shoot, I think his first series there wasn’t an incomplete pass,” Narduzzi said. “Eli played really good, I think. I was really happy with where he was. He had the one interception, kind of threw it off his heels, I think. We’ll go back and look at what he did there. But overall, he got the ball out of his hands when he needed to. I think one series, we gave up two sacks in a row, which is disappointing. See if he needed to get rid of it or we had a protection problem. I think the corner came one time. Overall, 30 of 40 for, what, 300-plus yards, I would say he looked pretty darn good.”

It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was certainly one of the better quarterback performances in the post-Pickett era. And it’s just the beginning.

Pittsburgh Panthers wide receiver Raphael Williams (5) August 31, 2024 Photo by David Hague/PSN

Pitt Has Some Playmakers 

Kenny Johson was the breakout star last fall. He was only a true freshman but appeared to be in line for an impactful first season in Pittsburgh. I don’t think the previous coaching staff knew what to do with him though. Kade Bell does.

Give him the ball.

Johnson caught 15 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown last season. He caught seven passes for 105 yards and a touchdown against Kent State. He’s a bonafide playmaker. It’s amazing what can happen when playmakers are paired with an offensive coordinator who can scheme them open, isn’t it?

“I think coach Bell and the offensive staff does a great job of scheming it up and putting our kids in position to make those plays,” Narduzzi said. “The ball is being spread out. I don’t know how many different receivers caught balls here today. But when you look at the targets, Kenny, just some good stuff. The ball’s spread out. You can’t just focus on that guy over there. We’ve got different ways of getting guys balls and have got to try to get everybody involved.

Johnson led the way with his first 100-yard performance but wasn’t alone. Censere Lee, finally back from injury, caught six balls for 72 yards. Konata Mumpfield hauled in five balls for 56 yards and a touchdown — and could’ve had another. Poppi Williams caught touchdowns from both Holstein and Yarnell.

But maybe most encouragingly, Gavin Bartholomew hauled in five balls for 66 yards — his first five catch performance since the Tennessee game in 2022.

Johnson, Mumpfield, Lee, Williams and Bartholomew form a high-upside receiving/tight end corps, and that’s without mentioning Daejon Reynolds.

Desmond Reid is Electric 

Desmond Reid deserves his own category here.

He took his first carry in the first quarter just a couple of yards, but his blend of speed and twitch caught my eye. And then he returned the first Kent State punt 78 yards for a touchdown. Wow, okay.

He was mentioned all offseason as a player to watch. The small but mighty running back transfer from Western Carolina was supposed to pair well with Rodney Hammond Jr. He made fans forget about Hammond Saturday afternoon.

Reid racked up 231 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in an explosive performance.

“That’s what I was talking about,” Narduzzi said. “I mean, the kid’s been like that. He’s tough. He gets a calf right there, comes back, doesn’t say boo. He just keeps going. He’s an ever-ready battery. He just goes.

“Even the punt return. We had our base defense on the field. We were in punt safe. We were keeping our base defense on the field. They made some blocks, and he made some plays. He popped through. I told you he could break one. Happened to be Izzy (Israel Abanikanda) was here today. He’s that kind of back who can break one.”

Reid fielded the punt off the hop, bounced off a would-be tackler and raced 78 yards to the end zone. Electric. His 54-yard touchdown run in the third quarter may have been even better.

Desmond Reid has another gear 💨💨 pic.twitter.com/Ag3p9QlsxP

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 31, 2024

Reid carried the ball 14 times for 145 yards (10.4 yards per carry) and a touchdown. He caught three passes, too. It was a dominant all-around performance and one that I think is repeatable against Power Four competition.

Tons of Stuff to Fix

Pitt allowed Kent State to hang around through the first two-and-a-half quarters largely because of the unforced errors committed throughout the first half.

A defensive lapse, allowing Kent State wide receiver Luke Floreia to run free up the seam for a 36-yard touchdown (75% of the Golden Flashes’ first half yardage), wasn’t ideal. Mumpfield dropping a touchdown toss and fumbling a poorly fielded punt, which allowed Kent State to score its second touchdown of the game wasn’t either. And Holstein’s strong first half was marred by a bone-headed interception in the red zone.

But Narduzzi was most displeased by an 11-play, 75-yard Kent State touchdown drive to open the second half.

“I did not like the way our defense came out in the third quarter,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll address that. I didn’t like that at all. I don’t know what they were doing, what they were thinking. I can’t wait to watch the videotape. That was not how I wanted to come out in the third quarter.”

It cut the Pitt lead to 28-21, and while the Panthers pulled away eventually, a dominant performance wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard at the time.

Pitt also committed seven penalties for 63 yards, with many of those occurring in the first half. But Narduzzi was oddly accepting of the unforced errors.

“We talk about eight things critical to winning, and penalties isn’t one of them. Penalties doesn’t lose games. How many illegal procedures did we have? Zero unforced. There’s going to be some aggressive penalties we had.

“There were some early. I don’t have my book on me, but there were some early that shouldn’t happen. They were aggressive ones and, you know, I don’t anticipate those — I think the first one was a block in the back or a holding on a punt return. Just shouldn’t happen and, you know, we’ll get that cleaned up, I think, for sure.”

Pitt has plenty to clean up entering next weekend. And speaking of…

Season Begins in Cincinnati 

While it’s nice to score 55 points against Kent State, it would be a bit nicer to score 55 points against a Big 12 opponent.

And with the way Pitt played against Kent State, looking at the entire performance, a repeat performance will not be enough to score 55 points next weekend. The Bearcats coasted to a 38-20 win against Towson this weekend, doing just about whatever they wanted through the air and on the ground.

Pitt has the talent to knock off the Bearcats, but the coaching staff will need to use the Kent State win as a major learning moment. All three phases need work.

Cincinnati knocked off Pitt 27-21 last season, and there’s a chance for redemption. But more importantly, there’s a chance to see just where Pitt is.