Inconsistency on both sides of the ball forces Pitt football to drop two out of last three

On Saturday night, Pitt (7-2, ACC 3-2) dropped its late-season ACC matchup at Acrisure Stadium against Virginia (5-4, ACC 3-3). The final score was 24-19 as the Panthers’ offensive and defensive units charged up and cooled down at different times.

Redshirt first-year quarterback Eli Holstein threw for just 121 yards. Despite some questionable miscues and completing only 10 of 23 passes, Holstein had the Panthers leading 13-7 in the first half. The Panthers’ defense gave the offense multiple chances to convert drives and put points on the board. But Pitt ended the half with only 13 total points in spite of seven total offensive drives that were plagued with penalties and incompletions.

“[There were] way too many penalties in the first half offensively,” head coach Pat Narduzzi said after the loss. “Way too many dropped passes out there today … It’s our job to catch the ball.”

Pitt gained 155 total yards in the first half. That made 22 average yards gained for a drive. The offense remained out of sync for the whole game. Following the first half, Holstein exited the game with a head injury following a late hit while he attempted to slide. Following Holstein’s departure, Pitt put up just 124 yards and six points under the leadership of redshirt junior Nate Yarnell, who threw two interceptions. Senior wide receiver Konata Mumpfield also exited the game injured in the third quarter. These lackluster numbers came off of a total of six offensive drives for Pitt.

“When we have pre-snap penalties and turnovers, it’s hard to score,” senior tight end Gavin Bartholomew said. “Everything we want is still in front of us.”

Despite not catching a break, the defense constantly battled adversity to keep Pitt in the game.  Senior safety Donovan McMillan made six solo tackles to go with 10 total tackles, and in the fourth quarter, he made a hustle play and batted down a wide-open Cavalier receiver to keep Pitt within two. Sophomore linebacker Braylon Lovelace added nine total tackles, while Kyle Louis and Tamon Lynum added five and seven solo tackles, respectively.

The defense gave up 24 points. With 65 yards lost from offensive penalties, a sub-50% completion rate and a bizarre fourth and one-stop getting called back because the officials were not in position to mark the spot, it is tough to place blame on the defense. Narduzzi acknowledged the many miscues in his post-game press conference.

“[Virginia] got five downs,” Narduzzi said in reference to the game-altering play. “I haven’t seen that many times in my career.”  

For the first half of the season, these roles were reversed. The offense averaged over 45 points per game and gutted out two large comebacks against Cincinnati and West Virginia in back-to-back weeks.

“For as good and productive as it was for five games, it’s been four games now where it just hasn’t been at that level,” Narduzzi said.

After throwing for 300-plus yards in four of the first five games, Holstein has thrown for over 200 just once in the four most recent games. He has only thrown two touchdowns along with three interceptions in that time. The offense will have to work hard following the injuries to Holstein and Mumpfield to achieve the level of consistency necessary to win the last three games of the season.

In this same stretch, the defense conceded over 25 points per game and struggled to find its footing up until the Cal game. Since then, the defense has shown consistency. Outside of the SMU game — which was ugly on both sides of the ball — three strong defensive performances against Cal, Syracuse and Virginia have helped the Panthers stay in games with a peak against Syracuse, when the defense came away with three pick-sixes.

As a leader of the defense, McMillan is staying optimistic for Pitt’s final stretch of games.

“Take a positive mindset next week and keep our heads up, McMillan said.

Both sides of the ball have shown flashes of brilliance this season. Though back-to-back losses hurt the Panthers’ postseason prospective chances, the offense and defense have proven themselves more than capable of putting on game-winning performances. The team could shake up the end-of-season playoff rankings and the ACC by playing tough on both sides of the ball at the same time.