CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Pitt's running game has been subpar all of 2020, and last week's 30-29 loss to N.C. State was the biggest sign that it has a long way to go. After Kenny Pickett led the team with 40 rushing yards against the Wolfpack, the Panthers' rushing game ranks 12th in the ACC, averaging 130.5 yards per game.
What makes that worse is that Pitt's 156 rushing attempts is the third-most in the conference, meaning Pitt has tried to establish the running game through four games and it just hasn't worked.
Einstein's definition of insanity was "doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results."
In other words, if Pitt tries to establish the run for a fifth game in a row, it would be insane.
The better way to have Pickett lead in a way that helps the run game is to allow him to come out early throwing the ball and putting Boston College's defense on its heels. That would give Pitt's offensive line a break as Boston College's defensive front will be too busy worried about the pass, giving the offensive line a chance to set the tone in the trenches.
Pat Narduzzi has expressed his confidence in the offensive line to get it done here Saturday, 4 p.m., against Boston College at Alumni Stadium, but also indicated the importance of mixing it up.
"I always have confidence," Narduzzi said Thursday of his offensive line. "I don't think the O-line is as bad as you guys think. Our guys think they can run the ball. If someone's going to crowd the box it's OK to throw for 500 yards. Last week we threw for more yards and rushed for more yards than a team who was averaging the second-most rushing yards per game before facing us. I don't think North Carolina State lost confidence in their run game after facing us either. The game is what it is. You have to take what they're giving you and that's what it is. If they want to stack the box then we attack the open guys, if they want to drop into a Cover 2 then we run at them. It all depends on how many guys you have to block up front. Coverages do matter. You still want to try to pop one and go to it, but it's not always going to be successful. You have to keep working it, hitting it and hitting and trust things will pop."
Pitt's offensive line was beat a lot by N.C. State, and it was evident when the team finished with 2.5 yards per carry on 37 rushing attempts.
Here's an example of why that happened against N.C. State. You can see Jimmy Morrissey getting beat at the point of attack along with Carson Van Lynn filling in at right tackle:
No bigger disappointment came than when Pitt had the ball with first and goal at the one yards line, and failed in four straight plays to punch it in.
"It will definitely be in the back of our minds whenever we get into another situation like this," offensive lineman Bryce Hargrove said. "We're going to work to not have that feeling again, keep it in the back of our minds, move on and not let it happen again."
Offensive line coach Dave Borbely said the emphasis of the failure was on both the players and the coaches, but that he's liked the response of his players.
"After a game like that, two things happen on good teams," Borbely said Wednesday. "One is that the players tend to blame themselves; and two, the coaches tend to blame themselves. And both parties are correct. We have to play better and we have to coach them better. After each win I tell our guys 'stay hungry and stay humble' because the difference between winning and losing isn't great. You really have 24 hours to celebrate a win and 24 hours to mourn a loss and then it's on to the next opponent."
Reemphasizing the importance of focusing on what Pitt can do the next week, Borbely listed out the areas his linemen focused on this week.
"Whether you win or lose, you have to come out next game one week better," Borbely said. "There's a lot of improvement we need to make. It starts from the ground with their footwork, their leverage, hand placement, take-off, it starts with those fundamentals. We continue to work those each and every week based on the outcome of the previous week. We're not going to jump into the Wishbone or anything like that, we're going to stay the course."
Staying the course means sticking with the run plays that are called and not reinventing the wheel, but it doesn't mean the offense shouldn't put more emphasis on the passing game. That's what happened in the second half against N.C. State. Pickett would finish the game with 411 passing yards, the most of his career, as he took to the air and moved the ball for two second half touchdown drives.
Watch how he's able to hit Taysir Mack on a 21-yard hook route in between two defenders even when N.C. State is backed off. Only three initial down linemen and a late rusher are in the box, but the passing game still thrived:
Once the passing game got going, even Pickett acknowledged it helped open up the running game that would feature Vincent Davis' three longest runs of the day of four, nine and 15 yards in the fourth quarter.
"We were trying to get the running game going and waiting to pop our run by letting our linemen set their pads," Pickett said after the game against N.C. State. "But it just wasn't going our way. Second half we came out and were slinging it so we had to adjust to what they were doing. They were doing a good job stoping the run so coach Whipple dialed up some passes down the field. D.J. [Turner] had a great game and our guys were getting open so I just had to put it on them."
Pickett's observation was correct, and could serve as part of the formula for the Panthers' offense moving forward. Instead of relying on a ground game that's still working on the fundamentals, trust the senior quarterback that's coming off throwing for the most yards in a single game throughout his career.
While relying on Pickett's hot hand, the offensive line can work on those fundamentals that Borbely says combines with attack angles on defensive linemen and linebackers.
"Angles, particularly in zone blocking, are really important," Borbely said. "It does start from the ground with your footwork and continues by staying on track. If you go off track you can get beat over the top by a linebacker and that's always an emphasis each week, but even more so this week for sure. I didn't think we did a great job with angles and I probably didn't do a great enough job coaching it so we didn't get a great result. Certainly that's been a huge point of emphasis, working the combinations and being on the correct angle to block a down player or block a linebacker."
Here's an example of when passing to set up the run worked and you saw the proper angles taken in the run game.
You can see the double-team come from Morrissey and Grant Carrigan on the left side of the run while Van Lynn and Hargrove double-team on the right, opening up a huge hole for Davis to run for 15 yards:
Borbely says that where the line comes together is around Morrissey, team captain and a senior who now has the entire offensive line coming to extra meetings with their position coach in the middle of each week.
"He's fantastic," Borbely said of Morrissey. "He comes up here every Tuesday and Wednesday night. It used to just be him but now he's got the whole entourage with him. It used to be just he and I going over the third down pressures and how we handle things, now it's everyone. He's really smart. I give him a lot of leeway on deciding between choice A and choice B in those situations. It takes the other four to be on the same page with him, as well as the running back. They do a really good job with that."
Pickett easing the pressure of the line while it figures out how to fix its own problems have to be a key for the Panthers to win over Boston College. Expecting corrections every week is part of the process, but this has been something Pitt has waited for weeks to come to fruition. Expecting for that to change this week would be putting a lot on a group that's coming together.
Let Pickett be the captain that he was picked to be, and lead this offense.