There aren’t many people who expected Pitt to run the table after a 7-0 start.
And with the way the offense was humming under offensive coordinator Kade Bell and a defensive unit that seemed to get better by the week, there aren’t many people who expected the Panthers to lose four in a row either.
It’s likely the subsequent decline isn’t so much Pitt falling from the sky as it is the Panthers returning to Earth. That’s not the say the Panthers haven’t let games get away over the latest four-game stretch, though. It’s one thing to lose games; that’s expected over the course of a season.
It’s another to not show up. It’s another to not be competitive.
Pitt wasn’t competitive in a loss to No. 13 SMU. Okay, the Mustangs are very good — probably the best in the ACC. Pitt wasn’t competitive in a loss to Louisville. Okay, it’s a problem when it happens twice in four weeks.
“It looked like an SMU performance on the road,” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly presser. “Again, we had missed tackles. Shouldn’t be pushing people out of bounds, should be taking them down. But it goes to good players …
“So, the effort — I didn’t question the effort when I’m watching. All the way to the end as well. Is there missed tackles? No question about it. Missed assignments? No question about it.”
Pitt, obviously, hasn’t played well over the last four weeks. You can point to injuries (Branson Taylor was lost for the season against Cal, and Eli Holstein has dealt with a multitude of injuries), and the latest Holstein injury was a turning point against Louisville.
The opening drive for the Panthers resulted in an interception at the goal line, but for the first time in a while, the unit looked good.
Holstein was dragged down by Louisville linebacker Stanquan Clark with a hip-drop tackle, carted off the field and a banged-up Nate Yarnell entered the game. The stats don’t look for Yarnell on paper, but he didn’t play as badly as the numbers paint. He didn’t have much help.
A lot went wrong against Louisville. Holstein went down and then the balloon popped. Pitt didn’t commit a whole bunch of procedural penalties against the Cardinals, but the play-calling was erratic, and when plays were there, execution wasn’t. Pitt mustered just 265 yards of offense, turned the ball over three times (one for each quarterback used) and allowed the Cards to do anything they wanted on offense.
Once again, it was a complete team loss. Outside of maybe Sean FitzSimmons’ performance on the interior of the defensive line, there wasn’t a single thing to write home about.
Pitt flew down to Louisville, got its teeth kicked in on both sides of the ball and flew home with a 32-point loss. That isn’t ideal in the penultimate game of the season.
Especially a season that started with seven straight wins. Louisville may have been the worst performance of the season.
“I feel like almost a perfect storm,” Narduzzi said. “We’ve been unhealthy — we’ve been unable to stay healthy, really, since the Cal game, as you guys know. It’s a perfect storm down there. I felt coming out, attitude was great. I think our guys played with great effort for four quarters. Our guys never quit, never gave up.”
Narduzzi said immediately after the game that Pitt wasn’t good enough in the first half — but also that a -3 turnover ratio (three interceptions), two failed fourth down attempts near midfield and a mess of a defensive performance weren’t good enough. Pitt certainly wasn’t good enough.
And despite what Narduzzi said, the Panthers didn’t look like a team that was prepared for Louisville. And they certainly didn’t play well offensively or defensively on the field.
A loss is one thing but failing to compete (in Week 12 of the season, with a promise to do so) is different. Pitt has one more game in the regular season, a road test against Boston College, and the performance will go a long way.
Pitt has lost four in a row, failing to show up against SMU and Louisville and dropping disappointing results against Virginia and Clemson. A fifth loss in a row would be a huge disappointment — and failing to compete would be a disaster.
It will take a complete team effort to bounce back against Boston College — from Narduzzi and all the way down. Everyone needs to be better.
“Shouldn’t be pushing people out of bounds, should be taking them down.
So, the effort — I didn’t question the effort when I’m watching.”
How does he say the effort was good? How? Seems to me they are more concerned with strutting, posing, and celebrating than they are with being good. They got too full of themselves after the Syracuse game not realizing it was one of those nights when everything went right for you and wrong for them.
No posers in my role models. I wonder how many of these youngsters have role models of hard work/nose to the grind-stone men/Dad’s in their lives? How many are busting ass in the classroom? Too many just want to go to the next level and continue to play a child-hood game in life..
Agreed, I think most of em are more concerned with taunting the other team and fans than anything else. I turn it off sometimes, I don’t like watching anyone act like that.
Blew out mighty Kent State, Youngstown (Pat wore a tie to look like Daddy Narduzzi) a couple of come from behind wins against mediocre Cincy and WVU followed by a close win vs lowly Mack Brown’s Heels then barely squeaking by Cal before looking like world beaters vs the Orangemen where the D, not the O, scored 3 TD…then we were exposed for what we are…I never bought into the hype associated with the 7-0 start, Bell’s frisbee O, Eli the QB and Reid the power runner but is was entertaining, something that the Panthers and their CEO Narduzzi have… Read more »
It’s a tale as old as time. Pitt has some terrific younger players that have talent, but Nardluzzi makes them “wait their turn and pay their dues”. Saw it last year with Solomon Deshilds and Shane Simon. This year with Keye Thomson and George–Those young LBs now look unsure of themselves and it’s because they have to share time with slower and less talented players. PJ Obrien shouldn’t see the field with the mistakes and penalties. And the OL should be solidified with depth. ITS YEAR 10. Have a program that beat shit teams at home (Virgina). Go on the… Read more »
You hit it on the heads with these words…”it’s been 10 years!!!” With that contact extension through ‘30, we get to watch the Narduzzi shit show for 5 more seasons!
How many solid OLmen are in the class of’25?
Curiously we were humming along undefeated PLAYING FAST and then suddenly we slow down and have no success……Dooz??Dooz???
It’s not as simple as fans make it out to be. Playing more of the young guys is not that simple. Do any of you watch practice or film? If the young guys you say are better than why not show it during practice? Now for the harshest truth of them all: 2 things are working against Pitt and Narduzzi and neither can be solved: 1. No on campus stadium and 2. A real lack of legit Talent in Western PA. Take a look at the Top 30 players in the state of Pennsylvania and you’ll notice a trend. Close… Read more »
“I think our guys played with great effort for four quarters.”
What the F is he talking about? Is he on dope?
Who would you fire first if you had a choice. 1)Narduzzi 2)Sullivan 3)Tomlin.. The answer is obvious. All three.