‘You Better Be Hurt:’ Pitt Football Quiet, Learning from SMU Loss

Last season’s losing feeling for the Pitt football team was something that the players did not want to experience often in 2024. Up until Saturday, the Panthers avoided that misfortune.

As a team riding high with an undefeated mark that subsequently fell flat in a top-20 matchup against SMU, the demeanor surrounding the team shifted following the loss.

“When I walk into the team meeting last night (Sunday) –every team is a little bit different after 10 years. This is a quieter team, which means it hurt a little bit, which is good,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said on Monday. “If we come in here, they’re having fun, looking at videos on their phone, stuff like that, it’s like, really? To me, you can tell a lot by what your team does coming in after a loss.

“I think it hurt them. I don’t think they were happy. They were quiet on the plane, on the bus on the way back, which is a good thing. I want them to be hurt. You better be hurt. We all work too hard to have a negative outcome. There better be some pain involved. When it hurts a little bit, it means something to you.”

Pittsburgh Panthers October 24, 2024 Photo by David Hague/PSN

The first setback of the season comes with its learning opportunities, much like Western Michigan and Miami did in 2021 before Pitt secured its first ACC title.

“To me that’s what coaching is, teaching is, learn from their mistakes in all three phases. If you don’t, you’ve lost an opportunity to teach,” Narduzzi said.

Pitt’s issues were apparent from the onset in Dallas with a missed tackle from Rashad Battle on the first third down play of the game that allowed for a big 43-yard gain. A seven-play drive took 2 minutes and 41 seconds to reach the end zone for the Mustangs and they never looked back from there.

“We just didn’t execute. We didn’t tackle well on defense. We didn’t play well on offense. Didn’t tackle the quarterback, didn’t run the ball good enough. Again, when you play a really good, talented football team, you better match up,” Narduzzi said.

Battle’s missed tackle on the opening drive was seconded by a Tamon Lynum failed tackle on tight end Matthew Hibner coming on another third down. That drive resulted in the second touchdown of the night for the Mustangs.

“It’s practicing hard every day, which I think we do. You see it versus the scout team. We make plays in practice. We just got in the mode yesterday. If you put the tape on and watch it, he’s going to make that play. Rashad is out there, he’s going to make the play. Everybody slows down a little bit, then there’s a change of speed. That can’t happen.

“You always see it when we don’t make a play. When you’re busting, the tackle is done well. When you have to change speeds, then you got problems. Again, that’s a sign of a loaf. Don’t assume. We assumed this guy is going to make the tackle. It didn’t happen. Then we weren’t there to help out. That’s not Pitt defense. That’s got to get corrected.”

As the defensive lapses mounted, the Pitt offense did not help the cause much either. Quarterback Eli Holstein completed 29-of-47 passes for 248 yards, while throwing an interception and getting sacked three times. Pitt went 5-of-16 on third downs.

WE’LL BE TAKING THAT.

Cue Club Takeaway 🎉#PonyUpDallas pic.twitter.com/Kjy9DBp90C

— SMU Football (@SMUFB) November 3, 2024

“He’s a redshirt freshman. I think everybody forgets…When you win, Eli is going to be the rookie of the week. When you lose, which obviously it’s our first, it’s not on Eli. We didn’t protect him well enough, run the ball well enough. We played a really good defense,” Narduzzi said.

Over the past few weeks, teams have adjusted to the Pitt offense, making it more difficult for Holstein to push the ball down the field.

“Even SMU, the team that has 24th ranked defense in the country, came out and did something totally different than they do. They are a man-free team, they didn’t play man-free. They didn’t like the matchups, they played cover-three all day. Three weak, they played cover-two. That’s what we saw,” Narduzzi said.

No. 23 Pitt football moves onto a Virginia team that sits 4-4 overall, 2-3 in conference and is coming off a bye after a 41-14 loss at North Carolina.

Narduzzi ensures that the loss at SMU will be used as a learning tool and motivate the team to return back to its winning form.

“We’ll bounce back this week, I’m sure of it.”