Savage leads Pitt to upset win behind offensive line

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Tom Savage made his name nationally known in September when he threw for 424 yards and six touchdowns in Pitt’s high-scoring win at Duke. Even NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt went as far as to compare Savage to three-time Super Bowl winner Troy Aikman. 

Since Savage has averaged just 183.6 passing yards per game and thrown five touchdowns against three interceptions in five games, matters were complicated by an offensive line that allowed Savage to be sacked 29 times — not to mention other various hits — entering Friday’s game against Notre Dame. 

But Saturday, behind an offensive line playing possibly its best game of the year, Savage delivered his best performance in recent memory, leading Pitt to a 28-21 upset victory over then-No. 24 Notre Dame. 

“They were incredible,” Savage said of his pass blockers. “They won this game for us.”

Savage was sacked just once Saturday when Prince Shembo came off the edge for a sack fumble. 

“I thought it was a heck of a front we’re facing,” head coach Paul Chryst said. “Guys battled.”

Chryst’s praise of Notre Dame’s talented defensive line is an understatement. The four-man line features All-American defensive tackle Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt on the strongside edge. 

For reference, Tuitt emerged from high school in Georgia as a five-star recruit and the second-best at his position. The only player ranked higher than Tuitt, Jadeveon Clowney, might be chosen No. 1 overall in April’s NFL Draft.

But Tuitt was ejected from Saturday’s proceedings shortly after the second quarter began for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Savage that solicited a targeting penalty from the officials. Under the NCAA’s recently instated rules for such hits, Tuitt’s day was done. 

The load was lessened on Pitt’s offensive line, and it worked. 

“We were on ‘em a little bit more,” Chryst said. “The results were better. I thought we were able to run the ball, that helped a little bit.”

James Conner and Isaac Bennett combined to carry 27 times for 102 yards, and Conner plunged into the end zone twice from the 2-yard line. From Conner’s perspective, the offensive linemen were prepared to battle Saturday after the week’s preparation. 

“They were a lot better in practice also,” Conner said. “Practice was more up-tempo.”

As a result, Conner said the line was “maybe just more focused,” which paid dividends for Conner and the Panthers. 

“Everybody was in their ear,” Conner said. “I told them, everything you’ve got, and they did that. It was a great game by them.”

The unit played its best game of the year, which led to what could be considered the signature win of Chryst’s short tenure at Pitt thus far. Behind the largest players on the team, Savage completed 22-of-35 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns. 

In particular, the Panthers were able to establish a vertical passing game virtually unseen since the Duke game simply because Savage had no time behind an offensive line that at times more closely resembled Swiss cheese. 

Instead, the line gave Savage time, which allowed Pitt to implement its game plan to throw deep. 

Savage found receiver Devin Street for two touchdowns Saturday. One of those was a 63-yard scoring toss that tied the game at 21-21, following a 80-yard touchdown thrown by Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees. 

“We knew we had to take shots,” Street said. “That’s what we did.”

Street finished with four catches for 76 yards and two scores, while Tyler Boyd also hauled in eight balls for a team-high 85 receiving yards. The two receivers made up the majority of Savage’s passing yards, and Street noticed the improvement from his quarterback. 

“I think he was just being patient,” Street said. “He was confident in himself, and the line did a great job of protecting him, and Coach Chryst did a great job of dialing it up. Everything just came together tonight.”

But everything started on the line of scrimmage, as Chryst will tell anyone, and Pitt’s protection allowed Savage to make the play necessary to help Pitt score its biggest victory of the 2013 seaosn. 

“I thought that he made some big throws. I thought he competed when they weren’t there,” Chryst said. “He got some positive yards, he protected the ball.” 

In addition to his passing, Savage ran eight times for 28 yards to ensure the Panthers kept gaining positive yardage in contrast to taking drive-killing sacks and forcing his offense into down-and-distance situations. 

Of course, Chryst wants his quarterback to throw the ball, and Savage stepped up to this challenge the best he has in nearly two months. And, as the center of attention in each huddle, Savage became the leader a team expects from a quarterback.  

“He competed, and that rubs off,” Chryst said. “He put himself out there and made some really good throws.”

As for Savage’s evaluation of himself Saturday, he didn’t wax poetic about anything he did. The end result was all that mattered for a senior at his third school in five years. 

“I probably should get down a couple more times and slide,” Savage said. “Other than that, I’m just happy we won.”