Takeaways: Pitt Win is a Pitt Win, No Matter the Process

CINCINNATI — It took 59 minutes and 43 seconds. It took just about the entire game, but Pitt finally took the lead courtesy of Ben Sauls’ 35-yard field goal.

A 28-27 lead held the remaining 17 seconds as Pitt came from 21 down to knock off Cincinnati in the largest comeback for the Panthers in the last half-decade. It was certainly a wild afternoon at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“It’s a gutsy win by our guys,” Pat Narduzzi said Saturday in his post-game presser. “Couldn’t be prouder of the effort they gave. We came up in the fourth quarter and said we’re going to win this thing. Broke down on, ‘Win.’

“Our guys believed. It shows true character to come back from being 21 down. Players made plays. We made plays in the second half on offense and defense.”

Pitt did enough to squeak out a hard-earned win. Despite largely three quarters of poor play, Pitt showed up when it mattered. And that’s what matters at the end of the day. In the same situation against the same team last season, Pitt couldn’t pull out a win. Good teams find ways to win games.

Eli Holstein Has Guts

7-of-17 for 91 yards and an interception

13-of-18 for 211 yards and three touchdowns

Quite the contrast, huh? First and second splits for Eli Holstein. And in just the fourth quarter?

11-of-12 for 189 yards and two touchdowns

Wow. It’s still hard to wrap my head around just how well Holstein bounced back in the second half. I’ll admit, even midway through the third quarter, I thought it was futile. I wondered if Pat Narduzzi would let his young quarterback work through adversity or turn to his 1B quarterback. It truly looked like Holstein just needed to take a step back. He looked rattled.

But Narduzzi didn’t think so. His faith was rewarded with a gutsy comeback.

“He showed in practice that he’s our guy right now,” Narduzzi said. “And we know Nate can do it, too. We just felt like the scramble ability — and he didn’t waver at all. I think if you look in a kid’s eyes and you see any dizziness, he was locked in. And he apologized to me after the game: ‘That will never happen again.’ That’s kind of who he is.”

Holstein wasn’t seeing the field well early. He was overthinking, trying to take too much and actively hurting his team with his play. But he battled through the adversity, in just his second start (first on the road) and showed up when it mattered most. He made some big-time throws in the fourth quarter. And his presence and poise in the pocket is a sight to behold.

There’s still a lot to clean up, but that was a gritty performance that bodes well for his future. It should be a major confidence boost entering the Backyard Brawl next weekend.

Des the Great 

What else is there to say about Desmond Reid?

If he was impressive in his Pitt debut, what’s the adjective to describe his second game? Irreplaceable? Pitt doesn’t win without his heroics.

254 yards from scrimmage. He’s the first Pitt running back since Panthers great Dion Lewis to run for 100 yards in each of his first two games in a Pitt uniform; I can’t find the last Pitt player to record a 100-yard rushing and 100-yard receiving performance.

“Desmond is a football player,” Narduzzi said. “I can’t say enough. I don’t know when someone last had 100 yards receiving, 100 yards rushing. But his performance, outstanding. I’m sure he’ll be Player of the Week in the ACC. If he’s not, something’s wrong.”

Reid is off to an electric start to his debut season with Pitt. Just how good? His rushing total through two games is just 74 yards off of last season’s second-leading rusher, C’Bo Flemister.

In two games, he’s racked up 293 yards and a touchdown on the ground (8.9 yards per carry), 117 yards and a touchdown through the air (13 yards per reception) and returned his lone punt return for a 78-yard touchdown. ACC Player of the Week be damned. That’s Paul Hornung Award-worthy.

If Reid can stay healthy, the sky is the limit. Seriously.

The Kade Bell Offense is Legit 

Pitt has something in Kade Bell.

When Holstein struggled in the first half, it wasn’t because he didn’t have open wideouts. He did. He either didn’t see them or overlooked them in pursuit of splashier plays. But Bell made it even easier in the second half.

He got Holstein on the move, continued to dial up the high-percentage throws and actually used Reid and Konata Mumpfield effectively. It’s night and day from the previous offensive regime. The halftime adjustments, paired with the continuous support for Holstein, led to a complete 180.

The offense, through two games, is averaging 41.5 points per game and 532.5 yards per game.

“We’ve had belief for a while,” Narduzzi said. “It wasn’t just after last week or after this week. I told our team last week, I’ve got more confidence. I’ve been — coming into the 10th season, I have more confidence in what our guys can do in that room.”

Bell clearly knows what he needs to succeed. He brought the guys with him, looking at you, Des Reid, and all he needs is a quarterback who can quickly and efficiently run the offense. Holstein may just be able to do both — and more.

Is the Defense Going to be a Problem?

Death by 1,000 paper cuts? No. Death by 1,000 10-yard comeback routes.

Pitt wasn’t able to generate any pressure upfront, wasn’t able to cover the deep running Cincinnati wideouts along the sideline and seriously struggled against the run early.

“There were some major stiff-arm push-offs that we just gotta play better,” Narduzzi said. “We still got to get better in the corner right now. We’ve got to get a lot of younger guys out there. But we’ll look at the videotape. We played better in the second half, but Sorsby can make those throws out there. So, if they’re running 10-yard comebacks, he was putting it right on the money for the most part. So, we got into some different stuff in the second half.”

As bad as the offense was in the first half, the defense may have looked even worse. If the Pitt cornerbacks are going to live out on islands, the pass rush has to get home. The Panthers weren’t able to get home, weren’t able to defend the comebacks or the go balls and looked lost against a quarterback who, frankly, isn’t all that impressive.

Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield put on a clinic schematically in the first half. Pitt couldn’t keep up with an offense that ran well, right through would-be tackler, and consistently burned the Panthers on 3rd-and-long opportunities.

Pitt wasn’t able to get off the field all night, allowing Cincinnati to convert 7-of-12 three down attempts through three quarters.

But! But. The defense did clamp down in the fourth quarter. After allowing 379 yards and 27 points through three quarters, Pitt allowed just 70 yards (only 33 on the ground) and 0 points in the fourth quarter. It’s likely because the Panthers stopped all four of the Bearcats’ third down attempts in the process.

There’s a whole lot to clean up, and figure out schematically and personnel-wise, but the defense did its job when the stakes were highest, too.

Time to Brawl

How do you follow up the biggest comeback win in 50 years? You bring West Virginia to town, of course.

The Backyard Brawl is going to be electric. Pitt is 2-0 for the first time since 2021 and has a chance, if it beats WVU, to exit non-conference play undefeated. It’s a massive opportunity.

Pitt is looking for revenge after last season’s disaster, and Acrisure Stadium will be rocking. It’s a College GameDay-worthy environment if I’ve ever seen one, despite the fact that ESPN is headed to LSU-South Carolina instead.

3-1 would be a great way to leave non-conference play, but Saturday’s come-from-behind victory, continuing that momentum is paramount. A win of such a magnitude, sweeping Big 12 play, cannot be overstated.

Anything can happen in the Backyard Brawl, but just as it did against Cincinnati, there’s another huge opportunity against WVU.