Takeaways: Pitt Secures Bragging Rights for Another Year

PITTSBURGH — It took another fourth quarter comeback, but Pitt sent West Virginia back down I-79 as losers.

Pitt erased a 10-point deficit with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to secure a come-from-behind 38-34 victory in the 107th Backyard Brawl. After limiting the Panthers to just four yards in the second half with timing ticking away in the fourth quarter, Eli Holstein and the offense staged yet another comeback.

Holstein threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns — and added 59 rushing yards — in an incredible Backyard Brawl debut.

A 1-yard touchdown dive by Derrick Davis Jr. with just over 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, as Holstein was on the sideline after having his helmet ripped off, clinched the massive win for the Panthers.

“What a great crowd out there,” Pat Narduzzi said Saturday night. “Panther Nation showed up there today. I appreciate all the efforts that the Panther Pitt and everybody gave out there. We showed them a ball game.

“Not always the way we wanted it to go as far as just the details, but you couldn’t ask anything more from our guys in the locker room.”

Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) September 14, 2024. Michael Longo/PSN

Eli Holstein Gets Better and Better

It’s pretty surreal how quickly Eli Holstein has adjusted to life as a starting college quarterback. He certainly doesn’t play like a second-year freshman — one who has played in three games now.

He was tested in a raucous environment against Cincinnati two weekends ago, but the Backyard Brawl was a different beast entirely. It may have been a home game, but Holstein stood tall in front of nearly 70,000 screaming fans and delivered an instant classic.

The game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter was clinical — toughness, mobility and poise.

Holstein completed 21-of-30 pass attempts (70%) for 301 yards and three touchdowns — and led the Panthers with 59 hard-earned yards on the ground. But if you ask Holstein, he should have even more yardage on the ground.

Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Kade Bell have a gem in their young quarterback.

“I mean, it tells you he’s tough,” Narduzzi said. “He’s got a lot of toughness to him. He’s got moxie. He’s a football player. That’s what quarterbacks are supposed to be.

“We’ve seen quarterbacks like that here at Pitt before. He finds a way to get it done. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t come off, he’s not whining and crying, like, what’s going on, protect me, protect me. He don’t care. He just goes out and plays, and we made enough plays to get it done.”

If Holstein can go out and deliver on such a level against West Virginia (an admittedly weaker defense than last season), he can deliver in just about any situation.

Holstein compares pretty favorably to a pretty good Pitt quarterback through three games:

Kenny Pickett (2021) — 74-of-104 pass attempts (71%) for 939 yards with 10 touchdowns and an interception, adding 115 rushing yards

Eli Holstein (2024) — 71-of-105 pass attempts (68%) for 939 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions, adding 96 rushing yards

The Offense is Good, Kade 

I don’t want to pile onto Frank Cignetti Jr. too much; we all watched what went down. But damn, man.

It’s like watching two different sports. Bell is a very good play-caller. His scheme is easy and well-taught, a sharp contrast to the previous regime, and he’s delivering on his promises. Bell gets his playmakers open.

Pitt had 211 total yards against West Virginia last season; the Panthers had 222 yards against WVU at the half this season. And probably should’ve had 50-60 more yards.

So, it’s not perfect. It will never be perfect. But Bell runs an offense that has racked up yards, first downs and touchdowns — and moved quickly and effectively. The false starts against WVU were uncharacteristic, and the offensive line play was pretty poor in the second half, but Bell kept dialing up trick plays for some reason.

Whether it was a flea flicker or double reverse or the odd fourth down call late in the first half, the trick plays didn’t work. The normal offense did.

Don’t overthink it: keep doing what works.

Pitt is averaging 40.3 points per game, 482.3 yards per game and 26.3 first downs per game. That’s 20.1 more points, 164.4 yards and 10 more first downs per game than last season.

Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Brandon George (30) September 14, 2024. Michael Longo/PSN

Finding Ways to Win 

It hasn’t been pretty, and I’ve thought the end was near in back-to-back weeks now, but Pitt has found ways to win. That’s a stark difference from last season.

Pitt had opportunities to win games last season (yes, a couple) but couldn’t pull out wins. Good teams find ways to win games. I think Pitt is a good team. And the wins are bringing the team closer together.

“I think it does everything for them,” Narduzzi said. “When you can go out there and get those wins in the fourth quarter and find a way to win a football game, every week it’s something a little bit different. It’s somebody else, whether it’s Daejon and Derrick Davis.

“I mean, it’s finding a way to win. We talk about the blue vase, our guys are finding a way, they’re blue vasing it. And getting it done. Defense is outstanding, getting stops, getting the ball back to our offense.”

Pitt hasn’t been able to put together a full game yet — even against Kent State — and probably shouldn’t get comfortable with fourth quarter deficits, but the potential is there.

It helps to have a good quarterback. But it also helps to have an offensive scheme that gives the players a chance to score in less than two minutes and the playmakers to execute.

The defense hasn’t been up to its usual standards, especially on the defensive line, but it’s clamped down when needed late in games. Winning by two or winning by 40, a win is a win. But the Panthers still probably shouldn’t rely on too many more late-game heroics.

Beating WVU 

“Alright, everybody, wow,” Pat Narduzzi said Saturday night, his forehead shining with sweat. “That’s the first thing I’ve got to say.”

If you weren’t sweating that one out, on either side of the Backyard Brawl rivalry, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Narduzzi may not admit it, but he probably lost 10 pounds in water weight. And he’s probably not alone.

That was one helluva game, something that can only be delivered by the likes of a Backyard Brawl, one of the greatest rivalry games in college athletics.

It certainly wasn’t perfect, and Pitt did a lot of bad things. I mean, I think I was one of many who thought it looked pretty bleak as the Panthers were worn down on the offensive and defensive sides of the football — especially upfront. The offensive line was… rough. But a win is a win, and a win over the Mountaineers is always something to write home about.

Pitt fans can now brag about a win in the Backyard Brawl for the next 361 days. That’s what it’s all about.

Don’t Overlook Youngstown State 

I don’t want to use the phrase “Pitting it,” but it would be very… tragic to go 3-0 to kick off its non-conference slate and drop a crushing game to an FCS opponent right before the bye week.

There’s no looking ahead now. It’s 1-0 every week, and Pitt has to focus completely on Youngstown State. Don’t let the emotional high linger and don’t overlook an opponent that plays in a lower classification.

“I love that locker room to death,” Narduzzi said. “Our players never gave up. I’m sure some of the fans kind of gave up, and I thought, oh, there’s no way. But our guys didn’t give up. And if you didn’t learn that from last week, then hopefully you learned it from this week. And we’ll move on to the next.”

Youngstown State is 1-2 (with losses to Villanova and Duquesne) but still ranked in the top 25 at the FCS level. The Penguins are the top rushing offense in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), so it’s a good chance to tune up a leaky front seven before conference play.

It’s the last chance to tune up before starting conference play, but Pitt cannot afford to lose.