Trust, comradery keeps persistent Pitt football undefeated with a shot at history

After three weeks of college football in 2023, Pitt sat with a 1-2 record, both losses at the hands of rivals. Fast forward to a year later, and the Panthers are undefeated following a beat down of Kent State and miraculous comebacks against Cincinnati and West Virginia. 

With its upcoming matchup on Saturday against Youngstown State, Pitt has the opportunity to make history as the first team in Panthers history to finish its non-conference undefeated. 

This 360 difference from last year is led by not only great talent on both sides of the ball but love for and trust in each other. The players bearing the blue and gold understand what makes this team’s chemistry so special.

“We’re a brotherhood. We’re a family,” sixth-year linebacker Brandon George said in a press conference after yesterday’s win. “When someone gets down, we pick them up and start fighting. And that’s how you win football games. That’s why we’re a family.”

Quarterback Eli Holstein agreed, speaking to the relationship between him and his teammates. 

“I don’t know if our team can’t get closer together. We’re all brothers. We’re always hanging out with each other. We’re as close as a team I’ve ever been a part of,” Holstein said in the press conference.

“We’re always helping each other,” Holstein said. “We’re up there watching film day and night, just making sure everybody’s on the same page … I don’t see our team getting any closer together. We’re as close as they come.”

After playing a pivotal role in the Panthers’ comeback win over West Virginia, George, who entered the transfer portal in the offseason but ultimately opted to return to Pitt, said that Pitt is home.

“It’s amazing. Having my family in the stands, especially alongside my family on the field, it’s hard to beat,” George said. “I don’t want to be anywhere else. This is home. This is home for life.”

Trust between the defense and offense complimented both of the Panthers’ comebacks in weeks two and three. 

“It’s an attitude,” George said. ”We knew that we got Eli the ball and the rest of the offense the ball, we are in good hands, we’re ready to roll. So knowing that, knowing that they’re gonna score, and that we’re gonna have to come on the field to win the football game, that’s how we attack.”

Sophomore linebacker Kyle Louis agreed, even giving his trust in Holstein a numerical rating. 

“On a scale of 10, I’ve got like 15,” Louis said. “Eli is a dog.”

George described what he — as a veteran leader on the team — said to the rest of the team in the huddle before the defensive drive that set up the winning touchdown. 

“We need to get the offense our football back. It’s our game. It’s our game no matter what,”  George said. “I don’t care what the score is. Don’t even look up there. Get that offense or football back, and we’re going to be great.”

At the end of the Backyard Brawl, it was trust between the quarterback and receivers that solidified the ultimate two-touchdown comeback. 

“I just trust my receivers, trust my line,” Holstein said. “And that fourth quarter, five minutes left, those leaders on our team, the seniors … they got all of us together, and just told everybody, do your job, we’re gonna trust each other, and we’re gonna be alright.”

“You gotta trust your receivers,” Holstein said. “I feel like I wasn’t doing that in the first half. And that third quarter, especially into the fourth quarter, I started trusting my guys. We were able to go out there and make some plays.”

A tightly knit Pitt defense showed immense heart in come-from-behind wins in back-to-back games, picking up crucial stops in both games to allow the offense to take the lead.

“That’s all 11 guys on the field,” George said. “That’s a continuation of how we practice, how we’re resilient, and how … we just keep grinding, grinding, grinding.”

Louis talked about the dog mentality when trailing in games and how that has propelled Pitt to bark back in two big wins to start the season. 

“So you know, we’ve got dogs either on the field or ready to step up. We got dogs everywhere,” Louis said. “But we just need people that want it. We need dogs. So, you know, we definitely showcase that again and we’re going to keep showcasing that.” 

When Holstein trusts his team, it allows him to, in turn, trust himself to lead poised comebacks like the ones the Panther faithful have seen in the past fortnight.

“I’ve got some great teammates, great lead offense team, great coaching team,” Holstein said. “I got a lot of people that trust me, that believe in me. Ever since I got here, they talk to how much trust and belief they have in me that I’m going to be able to go out there and make plays that they need me to make.”

“They put me in the position to make those plays,” Holstein said. “I just have to trust myself that I’m gonna make those plays.”

Head coach Pat Narduzzi is proud of his team for its strong start to the season and not giving up on each other or the task at hand.

“The most proud of this team, just finding a way to get it done,” Narduzzi said. “They stick together. I mean, the most important thing is they stick together. And they finish together.”

“And again, it’s just each player,” Narduzzi said. “You play each game, there’s different guys making plays…So I mean, it’s everybody together.”