Column: Pitt continues to struggle offensively

Pitt football quarterbacks showed some consistency against Utah — consistency in putting up… Pitt football quarterbacks showed some consistency against Utah — consistency in putting up poor statistics next to their names.

But the Panthers’ second straight loss produced more than a few questions for the offense: Who can take command at the quarterback position? What happened to the Panthers who played South Florida? Can the offensive line ever get it back together?

The quarterbacks combined for a dismal, to say the least, performance against the Utes, but they aren’t the only players to blame.

Tino Sunseri and backup quarterback Trey Anderson are certainly the most visible members of the offense, but the rest of the offense should also shoulder some of the blame for Pitt’s struggles, particularly the offensive line.

Sunseri has been sacked a nation-leading 32 times this season. Johnny McEntee from Connecticut is second with 21 sacks. No one can deny that Sunseri is clearly struggling and not making decisions quickly enough or throwing the ball away when necessary — two areas he seemed to show improvement in against South Florida.

But he’s been sacked 11 more times than McEntee and that shows that not only is he not getting the ball out in time, but he’s also not getting the protection he needs to make good decisions.

Pitt’s wide receivers have seemingly disappeared as well, especially against Utah, where freshman Ronald Jones led all Pitt receivers with just 16 yards.

Pitt’s quarterback struggles don’t just point to a problem with one position, but they reveal something wrong with the offense as a whole. Pitt head coach Todd Graham said that the Panthers’ offense  “doesn’t look like a system at all.”

With five games remaining in the season, Pitt had better figure it out soon.

Sunseri — who Graham said still gives Pitt the best chance to win — finished 4-11 for 38 yards against Utah. During the fourth quarter, Sunseri also lost a fumble inside the Panthers’ own 20-yard line.

Graham inserted backup quarterback Trey Anderson into the game and the true freshman played most of the third and fourth quarters. Even though Anderson received more snaps, the results from the quarterback position didn’t change.

Anderson tried to compete with Sunseri’s numbers, completing five passes on 19 attempts for a total of 12 yards and two interceptions. While Sunseri struggled to get the ball off — getting sacked five times in the process — Anderson consistently missed open receivers.

Anderson’s first interception, a pick thrown to Utah’s Derrick Shelby for a return touchdown late in the fourth quarter, sealed the game for the Utes.

Utah came into the game with a 2-3 record (0-3 Pac-12) while struggling to hold offenses under 30 points in October. However, the Utes completely dismantled all aspects of Pitt’s supposedly high-octane offense, as the Panthers produced no offensive points.

Sunseri and Anderson were sacked a total of six times. The Utes even swarmed Pitt star running back Ray Graham every time he touched the ball, and he managed just 12 carries for 46 yards.

Last week, Todd Graham said of the offense versus South Florida, “Whoever we had at quarterback, the way we protected him, he was not going to be successful.”

The same seemed true this week.

It doesn’t help that the offensive line is currently missing two of its most productive and experienced offensive linemen.

Redshirt senior Chris Jacobson is out for the year with a knee injury, while senior Lucas Nix missed the games against Rutgers and Utah, also with a knee injury. Nix is expected to return for the Panthers’ game against Connecticut next week, which should help the line’s overall performance.

Protection has to be a key goal for the offense to turn this season around. After the game, Ray Graham acknowledged that Utah’s defensive game plan made moving the football difficult for the Panthers.

But when asked what the Pitt offense could do to improve itself, Graham said that all of the offensive players needed to work in order to give the quarterbacks more time.

Still, the quarterbacks certainly need to make major improvements as well. Sunseri needs to return to his performance against South Florida and make quick decisions while throwing the ball away when necessary.

If he does that, Todd Graham might be right: Sunseri could give the Panthers the best chance to win.