Recap: Pitt Embarrassed in Blowout Loss to No. 20 SMU

Pitt kicker Ben Sauls nailed a 44-yard field goal to bring the Panthers within four of SMU toward the end of the first quarter, and those three points were the highlight of the night for the Pitt Panthers.

Pitt was flat-out embarrassed by No. 20 SMU in a 48-25 loss Saturday night at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, a loss that looks better on paper than it looked on the football field.

Eli Holstein completed 29-of-47 pass attempts (62%) for 248 yards with two turnovers in a performance that wasn’t nearly good enough to beat the Mustangs. Pitt as a whole, offensively and defensively, wasn’t nearly good enough to beat the Mustangs.

Pitt had a chance to prove itself in a big ranked matchup against SMU, the first ranked matchup for the Panthers since 2022, but the Panthers came out flat — and never picked it up. It was a failure across all three phases, but as poorly as the Panthers played, it isn’t the end of the world. Pitt never really had a chance.

SMU struck early, catching the Panthers off guard defensively.

A blown tackle by Rashad Battle, which resulted in a 43-yard chunk play, helped set up a 2-yard touchdown dive by SMU running back LJ Johnson Jr. A blown tackle by Tamon Lynum, which turned a potential third down stop into a 22-yard chunk play, continued a drive in which the Mustangs converted three third downs. SMU wideout Roderick Jones Jr. hurdled Donovan McMillon for a touchdown a couple of plays later.

If not for a 44-yard field goal from Ben Sauls, SMU would’ve led 14-0 early in the second quarter.

But the disastrous first half continued as Sauls missed his first kick of the season, a 47-yarder that was pushed right, and SMU running back Brashard Smith ripped off a 71-yard touchdown scamper on the next play.

21-0, and Pitt needed a break. And it didn’t get it. Eli Holstein was hit on third-and-14 in SMU territory, trying to avoid pressure, and fumbled the ball. SMU recovered and marched to another touchdown late in the second quarter — a 3-yard connection between Jennings and Smith.

A 50-yard field goal from SMU kicker Collin Rogers capped the half, giving the Mustangs a 31-3 lead. And he even taunted the Panthers with the “Sharks” hand sign, to the chagrin of Pat Narduzzi.

Pitt took the second half kickoff, went three-and-out and failed to convert a poorly designed fake punt from its own 25. But the Pitt defense held strong, forcing a 27-yard field goal that stretched the Mustangs’ lead to 31.

And Pitt turned it over on downs again on the next drive, picking up just three yards on a fourth-and-4 in the red zone.

Pitt eventually found the end zone, Desmond Reid diving into the end zone from a yard out to cap a 12-play drive that featured quite a few miscommunications. Holstein carried the two-point conversion into the end zone, making it a 34-11 game at the end of the third quarter. But, as was the case all night, SMU didn’t take long to respond offensively.

SMU scored its fifth touchdown of the night via an 18-yard rumble from Smith, picked off Holstein on the ensuing Pitt possession (a miscommunication between Holstein and Reid) and scored its sixth touchdown on the next play, an 80-yard catch-and-run over the middle of the field.

48-11. Ball game. With nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

A couple of late touchdowns, a 13-yarder to Kenny Johnson and a 1-yarder to Malachi Thomas (his first collegiate touchdown) didn’t do anything for the Panthers.

Pitt (7-1, 3-1 ACC) will return home next weekend, looking to rebound from its first loss of the season against Virginia. The time and television network will be announced at a later date.