PITTSBURGH — Eli Holstein made sure to grab his head coach in the aftermath of the biggest come-from-behind Pitt win in over a half-decade. Why? Because he didn’t want to have to come back in the first place.
It’s not unfair to say that Holstein played poorly in the first half of the 28-27 win Saturday against Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium. He did play poorly.
Holstein completed just 7-of-17 pass attempts 91 yards and an interception.
It’s a miracle that Pitt only trailed by 11 at the halftime break.
“First half, I was just thinking too much, trying to do too much, especially with the three high safety look that they play,” Holstein said following the win. “They’re dropping eight pretty much every play, and I was just thinking too much. Toward the end of that last drive, before we got the field goal, I was just playing football, doing what coach told me to do. And that’s how I started playing in the second half. So, I just wanted to apologize to coach Duzz, ‘Hey, that whole half’s on me. That’s not on the defense; that’s not on anybody else but me.’ I took responsibility for that, and in the second half, we came out and played a lot better and won the game.”
The second half started slowly, with a turnover on downs and a three-and-out, but Holstein locked in. He slowed down, listened to what he was hearing from Narduzzi and Kade Bell and Konata Mumpfield and just about every one of his teammates and stopped trying to make the play.
Holstein just needed to make a play, one play at a time. So, he did.
He completed 13-of-18 pass attempts in the second half for 211 yards and three touchdowns. But in the fourth quarter alone? 11-of-12 for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He turned a 27-6 deficit into a 28-27 victory.
“Second half we were down, what, 27-6? I thought, ‘Hey, I gotta play a lot faster. I gotta move the ball, get completions.’ Completions over big plays; those completions are going to turn into big plays,” Holstein said. “I threw the ball three yards to Desmond Reid and he took it about 60 yards. Just stuff like that. Thats what I gotta do, I gotta do that a lot more, just taking what the defense gives me and not trying to force anything.”
It was a learning experience for Holstein and the entire offense but also a major confidence boost. It was a game that Pitt needed to win. Holstein battled adversity in his first road start, dominated the Cincinnati defense when it mattered and pulled out the win.
Narduzzi felt like Eli Holstein showed who he was with the performance — and the apology after the win.
I think WVU will be more physical than Cincy. He will need to control the game a lot more. Maybe long drives to keep the D fresh. Coming back 21 points will be much harder against the mountaineers. H2P !
Eli is missing some open receivers but showing some progress and yet needs to continue building
He’s less my concern than if Reid gets or is hurt
Eli is only a redshirt FRESMAN!! Great that he took responsibility for the 1st half. I love the maturity. Eli is paving the way to a bright offensive future with Coach Bell. How many people wanted him benched after the first half? So glad the coaching staff stuck with him. Bring on the Mountainqueers!!!
Count me as one of those people…was screaming at the TV for Narduzzi to make a change.