Wow. I’m still trying to digest what transpired in Detroit at the GameAbove Sports Bowl between Pitt and Toledo.
There will be plenty of moments and performances that will be discussed, some good and some bad but the bottom line is that Pitt lost a game they very easily could have won.
Despite a number of positives in this game, all that a majority of fans will take from this, and I don’t blame them, is that Pitt finished the season 7-6 after starting the 2024 season with a record of 7-0.
Something that is even more bothersome is that since the ACC Championship game against Wake Forest, Pitt’s record is a disappointing 19-20.
That’s certainly not the momentum and record that you would have expected following a championship season. Championships are usually followed by progression not regression.
That’s not the case with Pitt and we saw even more evidence of that yesterday.
Before we get into the sequence of the game that will get discussed and Pat Narduzzi will get criticized for, something else took place that I believe was the turning point of this game.
Pitt was leading 30-20 in the 4th quarter with under eight minutes left. Facing a 3rd and 6 from the Toledo 45-yard line, Pitt had some questionable game management.
It’s easy to second guess because of the result but under no circumstance should Pitt have been attempting to pass the football.
I know Kade Bell’s philosophy is to be aggressive but at this point in the game, being aggressive wasn’t needed, being smart and understanding the game circumstances was most important.
Toledo’s run defense struggled all game to stop Desmond Reid, Julian Dugger, Juelz Goff and Kenny Johnson. For the game, Pitt’s running game churned out 301 yards against Toledo.
In that situation, Pitt should’ve ran the ball and the worst-case scenario is that they come up short. The good news with that is that the clock would’ve been running and if they weren’t in a position to go for it or to kick a field goal, Pitt would’ve punted and Toledo would have gotten the ball with seven minutes down 10.
Although there’s no way to prove it, I say Pitt wins the game.
The reason for that is Toledo had done nothing prior to that for practically two quarters. The Pitt defense held Toledo scoreless for the first eight minutes of the 4th quarter, for the entire 3rd quarter and for the last seven-plus minutes of the 2nd quarter.
For nearly 30 minutes of action, the Panther defense completely shut down Toledo’s offense but that untimely interception changed the game.
It was a really poor decision by the Pitt coaches in terms of game management.
That all being said, that decision was genius in comparison to what took place in the 2nd overtime.
I can’t stress enough how effective Pitt was running the football. With a chance to win the game at the Toledo 1-yard line, Pitt first tried to get cute and followed that up by playing scared.
Regardless of Narduzzi saying how much he agreed with the play call, having Gavin Bartholomew try to pass to Isaiah Neal wasn’t smart. In that situation, either Reid, Goff or Dugger get the chance to win the game. Instead, Pitt tried to give Bartholomew a senior moment.
Once that failed, instead of trying to end the game and believing in your offense, Narduzzi opted for an 18-yard field goal.
Are you kidding me? Talk about playing scared and living in your fears.
Pitt fans no doubt had flashbacks to when Narduzzi made a similar decision years ago against Penn State to kick a field goal instead of going for the game-tying touchdown.
In his postgame comments yesterday, Narduzzi said he wanted his players to decide the game and not his decision. The Panthers’ offense would’ve had a chance to decide the game by punching it in from the 1-yard line.
Sorry, Coach, but your logic made no sense and I’m guessing you’ll eventually admit that you regret your choice as you did after the Penn State game, after initially saying it was the right call.
This was no doubt a last couple of months to forget but I’m guessing Pitt fans won’t let Narduzzi forget this six-game losing skid to end 2024 or the last couple of seasons.
The Pitt football program is at a critical crossroads as we are now in the 12-team playoff system.
The Pitt program is desperately seeking NIL from both the fan base and corporate America. Performances like they’ve produced over the last three seasons won’t go very far in trying to get people to fork over money.
The Pitt coaches need to get better and in particular the CEO of the program needs to get a lot better.
Considering the changes in the Pitt athletic department, I don’t think it’s an overreaction to say Narduzzi is now on the clock.
