No. 23 Pitt cannot complete second-half comeback in 26-19 loss to UNC

Pat Narduzzi’s second-half adjustments have saved the Panthers time and time again this season, but on Thursday night, the halftime deficit proved too much for his team to overcome.

In its first ACC contest against a team with a winning record, No. 23 Pitt faltered and fell to North Carolina on Thursday, 26-19. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi took home his first ACC loss, as Pitt went down fast and couldn’t pick up from a 20-3 halftime loss.

“We’ve got to play great for 60 minutes,” Narduzzi said. “Two weeks in a row, haven’t been happy with the way we’ve played in the first half.”

After North Carolina deferred on the coin toss, Pitt struck first, finishing off a 59-yard drive with 44-yard field goal from Chris Blewitt with eight minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Settling for field goals became a trend for Pitt, as three drives ended with field goal attempts.

“When you get in the red zone, you can’t kick field goals against a good football team,” Narduzzi said. “We’re kicking too many field goals and putting it all on Blewitt.”

North Carolina knotted the score less than five minutes later with a Nick Weiler field goal after a 67-yard drive fizzled out at the 8-yard line.

After Pitt’s second drive ended in a punt, the momentum started to turn. On the fifth play of the Tar Heels’ drive, quarterback Marquise Williams found a wide open Ryan Switzer for a 71-yard touchdown.

The Tar Heels were consistently able to find receivers deep downfield, something Narduzzi attributes to Pitt putting minimal pressure on Williams. The Panthers did not record any sacks, leaving Williams plenty of time to find receivers.

“When you don’t make plays, you make everybody look good. We probably missed four sacks out there, and he’s completing balls after we’re missing sacks,” Narduzzi said.

Narduzzi said Pitt struggled in reaching the quarterback on four man and zone pressures. Those struggles showed in the stat line, as Williams threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 52 yards.

A drive later, North Carolina struck again, this time via a 31-yard field goal, to put North Carolina up 13-3.

Pressed to answer back, Pitt’s drive ended on its second play, when Donnie Miles jarred the ball loose out of Pitt receiver Dontez Ford’s hands to cause a fumble. The Tar Heels capitalized on the chance, finishing off a three-play drive with 32-yard touchdown pass to Mack Hollins. Quarterback Nathan Peterman said Pitt needs to respond better in such situations.

“We’ve got to do a better job responding to adversity,” Peterman said.

Though Pitt finished with 414 yards, just barely less than North Carolina’s 444, Narduzzi said there’s plenty of room for improvement, adding that he didn’t believe the offense got in a rhythm the whole game. Running back Chris James said the team is still in the process of acclimating to offensive coordinator Jim Chaney’s scheme.

“It’s still new to us a little bit. We’re working everyday to learn this offense, learn why we’re doing everything and how we should [do it],” James said.

Pitt received an opportunity to regain momentum when Quintin Wirginis blocked Corbin Daly’s punt, which Jamal Davis pounced on. Though Pitt started its drive off at North Carolina’s 15, the Panthers could not capitalize on the field position, settling for a 29-yard field goal.

“[It was a] momentum changer, and we kick another field goal. Tough to win a game kicking field goals,” Narduzzi said.

North Carolina continued making big plays, though, completing a 49-yard pass to Hollins that turned into to an eventual field goal to bring the score to 23-6.

Pitt then moved within 10, answering North Carolina’s field goal with a four-yard Ollison run. The drive lasted seven minutes, four seconds and spanned 75 yards.

After thwarting another UNC drive, Pitt went three and out, as Peterman couldn’t convert on a third and one sneak.

Again, another Pitt stop led to another punt and another stalled Panthers drive, though not before linebacker Matt Galambos rushed six yards on a fake punt to force a new set of downs.

North Carolina would crush any hopes of a comeback on a 10-play, 73-yard drive that ended in a 32-yard field goal.

A six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Scott Orndoff brought the score to within seven, but by then it was too late, as Pitt could not recover its onside kick with less than a minute left.

James said the team promised itself to improve so it wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes from the loss.

“We just came back in the locker room and told each other we will be better,” James said.

Pitt will return play next Saturday at noon, when it faces No. 9 Notre Dame at Heinz Field.