With the win over Virginia, Pitt sits at 5-2 and gets the much needed bye week.
Star defensive end Ejuan Price missed most of the second half after leaving the game with an undisclosed injury. He was tended to by the training staff, and never left the sideline, but did not re-enter the game.
Free safety Terrish Webb also left the game with an undisclosed injury before halftime and didn’t return, and linebacker Quinton Wirginis also appeared to get banged up on a punt return.
Pitt is off until Oct. 27, when Virginia Tech will travel to Heinz Field, marking first of three big opponents on the schedule. Miami and No. 4-ranked Clemson are up after the Hokies.
“It’s perfect timing,” said coach Pat Narduzzi, regarding the off week. “I wish it was two weeks instead of a week and a half, but we’ll take full advantage of it. Our trainers and doctors will do a great job with our kids and we’ll come back fresh.”
Narduzzi rarely comments on injuries, and gave no indication of the seriousness of any of those suffered at Virginia. He simply replied “yes” to a question about whether it was a testament to get such a strong finish by the defense after a day with so many injuries.
I get Narduzzi wanting a little more time. Especially with injuries on defense. Really, though, the bye week could not have been timed any better. With a Thursday night game as the next one, Pitt doesn’t have a short week to prepare, and gets the extra couple days to rest and prepare for going on the road.
Yeah, the next three games are going to be something of a challenge for Pitt.
This is where Narduzzi and his charges will make or break their season. Yes, there will be contests against Duke and Syracuse that Pitt should win, the kind of games that have been a problem time and again for this program, but how Pitt handles Virginia Tech, Miami and Clemson will define them.
Go 0-3 and the disappointment will be nearly overwhelming. 1-2 is probably what most fans expect, and while it wouldn’t be great, it would set the Panthers up for a chance at 8-4, which, considering their schedule, wouldn’t be too bad. Being 2-1 would be very good, and 3-0 would be superb. Clemson, after barely surviving upset-minded N.C. State, doesn’t look quite as formidable as their preseason pedigree would suggest, and Virginia Tech and Miami, while very good, shouldn’t have the means to completely outclass the Panthers.
In short, any of the above outcomes is a distinct possibility.
All Pitt has done thus far is do what was expected of it by most fans and observers. The Panthers have lost twice on the road to good football teams — albeit in heartbreaking fashion each time — and have beaten the dregs of their schedule. The only major swing game of the first seven was Penn State, and the Panthers held on there to win a thriller that doubtless made the season a success in the minds of some die-hards.
If you’re looking for reasons for optimism as the big boy portion of the schedule arrives, look no further than Matt Canada and his offense. Narduzzi, despite his defensive reputation, has seen that unit perform well below expectations. They entered the game 10th in the nation in rushing defense, but they started Saturday 123rd out of 128 teams in passing yards allowed.
The offense has been excellent this season. We’ve become so conditioned in college football to think that anything using a more traditional pro-style offense is boring and stodgy. That the spread and the option and those variations are the way to be explosive and exciting. But what Matt Canada has done with Pitt this season has been just as good.
These Panthers are capable of being spectacular on offense, even without a dynamic deep passing game, but their calling card is ruthless, metronomic efficiency. It doesn’t matter who they play. So far, no team has proven able to slow them down to any significant degree.
Every skill player on the offense is a threat, from Conner down to George Aston, who barreled his way into the end zone on a shovel pass to salt the game away. Factor in Peterman’s gradually increasing comfort and trust with his Tyler Boyd-less corps of receivers, the emergence of Tre Tipton, and the possibility that on any series, Whitehead might carry the ball, and the Panthers are the kind of varied offensive bunch that gives opposing coordinators fits.
Having talent is one thing, but deploying it creatively and giving said talent the best advantage possible is quite another, and Canada excels in that department. Facing a 3-4 defense, he used jet sweep plays, so far Pitt’s bread and butter, to set up plenty of bruising, consistent work between the tackles. That the Panthers have been so prolific without overwhelming quarterback play is nothing short of amazing. If Peterman gets better and better, the sky is the limit.
Optimism about Pitt’s offense. Who would have thought, coming into the season?
On a related note, this piece puts present Georgia OC Jim Chaney on blast.
Consider, briefly, the case of Scot Loeffler, one of the worst coordinators in the FBS. He served as a grad assistant at Michigan when Tom Brady played at the school. Loeffler was Lloyd Carr’s quarterback coach when John Navarre and Chad Henne made Rose Bowl appearances. Loeffler earned the right to become a coordinator, but what did he do with those chances in recent years? Nothing good.
Chaney occupies a very similar position, his career having acquired a very similar trajectory. Smart made a 2016 decision based on a 2005 college football landscape. If he wants to fix Georgia — at least on offense — he needs a coordinator who is far better, far sharper, far more ascendant in a present-moment context.
When you are being compared to Scott Loeffler, you know its bad. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but no one on the Pitt side of things is exactly pining over losing Chaney at this point. As I noted when he left, in a landscape where pro-style offenses are getting fewer, those OCs that actually base their offense around them have actually gotten more in demand.
Scott Loeffler is gainfully employed at Boston College after doing nothing at Virginia Tech. Chaney is at least better than him.