Takeaways: Pitt Goes 4-0 Through Non-Conference Play

PITTSBURGH — A 73-point outburst hasn’t been the norm for Pitt over the last couple of seasons, but with the Panthers averaging nearly 50 points per game through non-conference play, it’s a throwback to the 2021 season.

Pitt has the same goal as the team in 2021 — win the ACC.

Going undefeated through non-conference play (for the first time in program history) sets the Panthers up for success. There’s momentum, some serious optimism, riding into the bye week. But there’s also a lot to clean up before the start of conference play.

“It was nice to have kind of a breather here and just explode out,” Pat Narduzzi said Saturday after the game. “It gives our kids confidence. They know what they’ve got. They still know there’s a lot of things we can clean up and make better.”

A win against Youngstown State got the job done. That’s what matters.

Eli Holstein Gets Better Every Week

It’s hard to overstate how good Eli Holstein has been through four games this season. It seems like he takes a step in every game he plays, and that may have something to do with the fact that he’s just four games into his college career. It’s not just his play on the field, it’s his leadership, too.

“He’s a baby, and he’s mature,” Narduzzi said. “I didn’t say a word to him about (taking Youngstown State seriously), talk about we’ve never (went undefeated in conference play). It doesn’t matter. It’s one game. We just want to be 1-0.”

Holstein was sharp against Youngstown State, dissecting the Penguins’ secondary through three quarters. He completed 16-of-24 pass attempts (67%) for 247 yards and three touchdowns, adding 93 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

He’s now completed 87-of-129 pass attempts (67.4%) for 1,186 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions, adding 189 rushing yards and two more touchdowns. That’s pretty damn good.

And he’s still ultra-critical of himself.

“He knows what he’s done right or wrong,” Narduzzi said. “He gets to watch the videotape. He’s probably watched the game once already. He’ll watch it a couple more times with the iPad. He knows what he missed and didn’t miss. He came out and took that sack. He’s got to throw the ball away at the beginning of the third quarter. I think we went three and out and punted to start the third quarter.

“Again, you’ve got to love a quarterback that’s critical of himself. You’ve got to love that. He’s not thinking he’s all special and done everything the right way. That’s what you want.”

Holstein hasn’t played a conference game yet, but there’s no reason to expect him to do anything but get better this season.

Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Nick James (11) September 21. 2024 Photo by David Hague/PSN

Still Looking for Complete Defensive Performance

Rasheem Biles said that the linebackers are about 75% of the way to where they want to be as a unit this season. What does Narduzzi think?

“They’re about where Rasheem says they are,” Narduzzi said. “If Rasheem says that, we’re not going to tell him he’s wrong. We’ll look at the tape and tell him where he is. There was a lot of good things. That was a good rushing football team. They had the ball for 37 minutes. I don’t think they had an explosive play really at least in the run game. They might have had a couple of 20-yarders — they had the big long pass with the busted coverage. Our guys did a nice job. I know there wasn’t more explosives, which is our goal.”

Pitt allowed 17 points and 309 yards to Youngstown State, but the run defense was sharp — as it needed to be against an inferior opponent. YSU racked up 71 yards on the ground but just 1.9 yards per carry.

The explosives came through the air. The secondary, defending the pass as a whole, is a work in progress. YSU wide receiver Cyrus Traugh scored touchdowns on 25 and 44 yards.

“Not happy with some of the mistakes we had, especially that last touchdown,” Narduzzi said. “We make the coverage check, make the check, and we don’t play the check. That’s ridiculous. That can’t happen. We’ll clean it up. We have two weeks to live with this one and move on to North Carolina.”

Pitt is 13th in the ACC in scoring defense (25.5 points per game) and ninth in total yards per game (342 yards allowed per game). There are some talented players on the defense, players like Nate Matlack, Kyle Louis, Rasheem Biles, Donovan McMillon, and the collective unit should continue to gain more momentum.

The bye week will be an important time to prepare the defense for the start of ACC play, making adjustments across all three levels.

Precision Offense 

Pitt ran 61 plays against Youngstown State, racking up 664 yards (the fifth-most in program history) and 73 points (the most since a 76-point outburst against Syracuse in 2016). That’s over a point per play. What does that mean?

Pitt executed.

Pitt scored again, and again, and again, and again, and again… The Panthers scored six touchdowns in six first half possessions. Pitt hit the halftime break with a 42-10 lead, went three-and-out on its first possession of the second half and proceeded to rattle off four straight scoring drives to end the game.

“Coach Bell has done a great job of coaching,” Narduzzi said. “Eli is very coachable. Again, taking what they’re giving you as we always try to do. Just the way he ran with the ball as well, running for 100 yards, throwing for 250. That was a heck of a ballgame by him.

“Then you watch Nate Yarnell come in and play pretty efficient as well. Happy for both those guys. Happy to get Nate and all of those other guys in as well.”

Pitt is second in the ACC with 48.5 points per game and 522.8 yards per game. The offense is humming, even with Reid taking the week off, and the Panthers can score points at just about any pace. That will be important in conference play.

Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) September 21. 2024 Photo by David Hague/PSN

Protecting Your Mentals 

Pitt is 4-0 for the first time since 2000, and Narduzzi doesn’t care.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Narduzzi said. “You think about it, it’s 4-0, one at a time. North Carolina is the only thing on my mind right now is where we are there. I guess first time in history of Pitt football that we’re undefeated in the preseason (non-conference), and preseason is over now. We’re moving to ACC play, and North Carolina, they’re on the clock for us, and we’ve got two weeks to prepare and get fresh and get ready to roll.”

The bye week is an excellent injury to let guys heal up (especially someone like Desmond Reid who will have two full weeks since he didn’t play against Youngstown State), but the Panthers will need to be mentally tough going into ACC play.

Pitt is on the outside of the top 25 polls and expectations have shifted. A win on the road against North Carolina will put the Panthers into more of a national spotlight.

4-0 is nice, but if the Panthers are to accomplish their goals in the ACC, it will require mental and physical toughness.