Pitt football takeaways | Reid is real, Holstein showed resilience and more

Pitt football is known for producing stars at several key positions, but over a century plus of football, the running back position is consistently a highlight for the Panthers.

With running backs like Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, LeSean “Shady” McCoy, Curtis Martin, James Conner and Tony Dorsett, Pitt typically sports a stud in the backfield. 

Junior running back Desmond Reid seems like he is next to join the legendary list.

He has only played two games, but Reid has already had on-field performances that even those running back legends did not have with the Panthers. 

Desmond Reid can carry the offense

Most people are familiar with the depiction of the mythical Greek titan Atlas holding the world on his back. Pitt football’s first two games have shown Reid can possibly carry even more weight.

Reid finished Saturday’s game against Cincinnati as the first Pitt player in history to finish a game with 100+ yards receiving and 100+ yards rushing. Reid currently leads the country in all-purpose yards with 488.

No matter the reason for redshirt first-year quarterback Eli Holstein’s first-half struggles, Reid kept the Pitt offense afloat. Once the Pitt offense figured their struggles out, Reid broke loose for the game-changing 56-yard touchdown that put the Panthers within two points.

Reid is the first Pitt player to start their career with consecutive 100-yard rushing games since Dion Lewis in 2009.

Holstein’s resilience is promising

Pitt’s season-opening win against Kent State was met with skepticism. Last week’s takeaway from The Pitt News was, “With cautious optimism, Holstein looked great.” Holstein against Kent State had multiple turnover-worthy plays, and this week against Cincinnati, the redshirt first-year did the same. On the opening drive, Holstein threw a brutal pick in the back of the end zone that ended Pitt’s first drive of the game.

Holstein had several over-throws, under-throws and total misses in the first half. The Alabama transfer finished the first half 7-17 with 91 yards and an interception, which caused the Panthers to trail 17-6 heading into the break.

But when Pitt entered the second half, it appeared a new man was under center. In the third quarter, Holstein started to heat up. Holstein was 3-7 and threw his first touchdown pass of the day to senior wide receiver Konata Mumpfield.

But in the fourth quarter, Holstein was nearly perfect. The Zachary, Louisiana, native went 10-11 with 189 passing yards, two touchdowns and helped score 15 points in the fourth quarter to round out his second collegiate start.

Was the first half scary? Without a doubt, yes. But seeing Holstein’s unwavering confidence — and more importantly, his teammates’ confidence in him — was inspiring. Now Holstein has the biggest game of his life against West Virginia.

Defense needed the offense to spark

Pitt’s defense was not the most inspiring in its week one 55-24 victory over Kent State. The defense was not responsible for all 24 points, but missed tackles and a couple of big plays from Kent State’s offense made Pitt fans nervous for their road trip to Cincinnati.

Similar to the worries about the offense, Pitt fans worried the first half would prove their suspicions correct. In the first half against Cincinnati, Pitt gave up 285 yards of total offense and 17 points. But in the second half, Pitt’s defense shut down Cincinnati repeatedly on third down, holding the Bearcats to a 2-7 success rate on the key play. 

Cincinnati punted on its first drive of the game, then didn’t punt again until the fourth quarter when the home team punted three straight times and fumbled on their final possession. 

Pitt’s offense certainly came alive in the second half, but without a stellar fourth quarter from the Panthers’ defense, the largest second-half Pitt comeback since 1971 would not have been possible.

Next up for the Panthers, Pitt hosts West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 3:30 p.m. The game is watchable on ESPN and ESPN2.