Following a last-minute victory over rival West Virginia, the undefeated Pitt football team faces an easier challenge against the Youngstown State Penguins in the Panthers’ final nonconference game before the beginning of ACC play. 

After passing their first two big tests, the Panthers have one more tune-up game ahead of their first ACC contest against North Carolina. Separated by 66 miles, Pitt and Youngstown State have shared some history on the gridiron. 

The last time these two teams met, the Panthers needed overtime to get past the Penguins and won 28-21. In 2012, Youngstown State pulled a shocking upset in Pittsburgh and won 31-17. The Penguins are an inferior opponent to Pitt, but anything can happen in college football. Regardless, it’s a good challenge for the Panthers before they trek into conference play. 

Iron Out the Defense

The Panther defense once again underwhelmed against West Virginia, and this game gives them one last chance to sort themselves out against a talented Youngstown State offense. 

Pitt comes into the game with the 80th-ranked total defense and 101st-scoring defense, giving up 353 yards and 28 points a game, respectively. The inexperienced defensive line and secondary have made life relatively easy for quarterbacks despite the linebacking corps excelling. 

YSU averages over 400 yards and 33 points per contest — not a slouch by any means despite their FCS status. The Penguins are led by dual-threat sophomore quarterback Beau Brungard who leads the team in both passing and rushing yards. 

Brungard is fairly average as a passer, currently sitting at a 70.5 completion percentage with three touchdowns and three interceptions, but his rushing game makes him a threat. He averages a ludicrous 8.3 yards per carry and 103 yards per game. 

The YSU offense pretty much runs through Brungard, so if Pitt’s defense can zero in on him they can effectively nullify the Penguin attack. But someone with Brungard’s skillset makes shutting him down easier said than done. 

Eli Heisman? 

Redshirt first-year quarterback Eli Holstein has proven himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC, if not the entire country. So far, Holstein has put up numbers similar to the beginning of Kenny Pickett’s legendary 2021 season, in which Pickett finished as a Heisman finalist. 

Pickett produced 939 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, one interception and 115 rushing yards in his first 3 games. Holstein has gone off for 939 passing yards, nine touchdowns, two interceptions and 96 rushing yards to begin the 2024 season. While it is a long shot, we could see Holstein in New York City at the Heisman ceremony come December. 

This week, Holstein and the Pitt offense face a fairly average YSU defense, with the Penguins surrendering 337 yards and 25 points per game. While not bad, a ho-hum defense combined with the talent gap between FBS and FCS means that Holstein and friends should look for another explosive afternoon. 

Holstein spread the ball out evenly this past Saturday with three different receivers reaching 50 yards, a far cry from the first two games where Holstein had an obvious number one target — redshirt junior running back Desmond Reid.  The Western Carolina transfer continued his productive start to the season with two receiving touchdowns in the first half. But Reid did have a quiet afternoon running the ball only rushing for 26 yards on his 11 carries. 

The offense has had long droughts moving the ball this season, most notably in a huge chunk of the Cincinnati game and the majority of the second half against West Virginia. It is imperative Kade Bell and the offense figure out how to avoid these lapses in production.

Keys to avoiding a trap game

While the Penguins are a subdivision below the Panthers, they are still a solid squad hungry to keep their season afloat and avoid a third loss. A hungry underdog playing against an unfocused favorite is the perfect recipe for an FCS over FBS upset. Coming off an emotional win against its biggest rival, and with UNC on the horizon, it would be easy for Pitt to overlook YSU. 

To avoid disaster, the Panthers need to crush the Penguins’ confidence quickly. If you let an underdog hang around, the pressure grows on the favorite causing more mistakes, thus creating a perpetual cycle. A heavy dose of Reid and a balanced passing attack should move the ball effectively for the Pitt offense. Defensively, Pitt should apply heavy pressure to fluster Brungard. 

The Panthers also need to clean up penalties, as they are at the bottom of the country in penalties and yardage. While it hasn’t resulted in disaster yet, costly penalties kill or extend drives that can put the Panthers in a bind. 

Verdict

Despite the solid play from the Penguins and the contentious history between Pitt and YSU, the latter’s talent disadvantage will prove too much to overcome. Holstein is playing some of the best football out of any quarterback in the country and will continue his stellar performance against the overmatched Penguins. The defense should also play a factor despite their shaky start to the season: the one-dimensional Penguin attack shouldn’t stress the Panthers’ defense. 

While anything can happen in college football, there aren’t many scenarios where the Penguins pull off an upset.

The Panthers win and slide into a 4-0 start before taking on the new ACC — with their first undefeated nonconference season in program history. 

Final Score: Pitt 52-YSU 17