Football: Offense looks to stay hot as Pitt eyes third straight win versus Virginia

Last Saturday, Pitt football’s robust offensive performance against Duke could have all been for naught if it weren’t for one player.

Never mind the three players nominated for weekly awards after career outings: redshirt senior quarterback Tom Savage, whose ACC record-tying six touchdowns led to Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week honors; senior receiver Devin Street, who earned ACC Receiver of the Week recognition, and freshman wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who scored three times en route to ACC Rookie of the Week acclaim. 

Despite impressive performances from these three players, the Panthers could have had to endure a week knowing it lost a game in which it scored 58 points. Fortunately for Pitt, they had redshirt junior receiver Kevin Weatherspoon.

With just more than two minutes remaining in the game, the Panthers faced third-and-7 on Duke’s 41-yard line. Pitt led by just three points, but had gone its last six drives — including all five fourth-quarter drives — without a resulting score, while Duke had notched four touchdowns in its previous six drives.

Savage lofted a throw to the sideline, where Weatherspoon darted, lunged and hauled in the pass to give the Panthers their seventh conversion on 17 third-down attempts.

So as Pitt (2-1, 1-1 ACC) aims to earn its third consecutive win after losing the season opener to Florida State, head coach Paul Chryst knows third-down efficiency is key in the team’s next matchup, a 12:30 Homecoming game against the University of Virginia (2-1, 0-0 ACC) at Heinz Field.

“Defensively, shoot, they’ve been great on third down,” Chryst said of the Cavaliers’ unit in his weekly press conference. Virginia ranks fourth in the nation in preventing third-down conversions at 22 percent.

Conversely, the Panthers have struggled in their first three games, reaching the first-down marker on just 40 percent of all third-down chances. The Panthers rank 66th in the country in that stat — the top teams in college football generally have a 60 percent success rate or better.

Of course, another struggle for the Panthers has been the offense’s penchant for turnovers — their six giveaways in three games is in the middle of the pack for FBS teams — combined with the defense’s anemic takeaway numbers.

So far this season, the Panthers are at a minus-one turnover margin, which they may edge to the positive side against a Virginia team that has been much worse. The Cavaliers, who have just one interception this season, stand at a minus-five turnover margin.

But while the Virginia defense has been suspect in terms of takeaways, it is still a formidable unit. The Cavaliers are tied for the 33rd-stingiest defense in the country in terms of yardage allowed, surrendering just over 332 yards per game. Virginia has yielded an average of 25 points per game, though the number is heavily skewed by an Oregon drubbing on Sept. 7. The No. 2 Ducks won that contest 59-10, but the Cavs have bookended that loss with wins over Brigham Young and Virginia Military Institute.

It is understandable that a team could surrender 59 points to Oregon, which is averaging more than 61 points and 672 yards of offense per game. The Panthers allowed nearly that many against Duke, which averaged 29 points in its three games before its 55-point effort last weekend.

Pitt defensive coordinator Matt House said as much in a press conference earlier this week.

“Thank God we didn’t give up 59, right?” House said jokingly.

His tone was more stoic as he added, “It’s going to be another big challenge this week with Virginia. They’ve got a couple backs that are really good. They’re running the ball [well] right now. I think their quarterback’s a good football player. We’re gonna have to play well in this game and certainly learn from our mistakes and just keep pressing forward.”

The standout offensive players House referenced are redshirt sophomore quarterback David Watford, who is in his first season as a starter, and running backs Kevin Parks, a junior, and Daniel Hamm, a freshman.

Watford has completed 66.3 percent of his passes, but is the chief reason for the dismal turnover margin, as he’s thrown six picks against just three touchdowns.

Parks and Hamm, however, have picked up the offensive slack by leading a rushing attack that averages 196.7 yards on the ground — the 52nd most in the nation.

That potent, up-tempo ground game coupled with the lightning-quick Watford under center could lead to a high-scoring affair similar to the one the Panthers were in against Duke’s speedy offense.

Savage, who thrived in the shootout in Durham, N.C., is prepared to handle that scenario again.

“Obviously you want to be up and win the game,” he said on Wednesday. “But those shootouts — that’s college football. That’s what we sign up for, and it’s fun. You just gotta go out there with your boys and perform.”