Pitt's defense still ranks as the ACC's best unit against the run, allowing 61.5 yards per game. But its pass defense has dropped to fifth in the conference, allowing 213.2 yards per game.
That's a sharp turn considering through its first three games Pitt allowed an average of 121 passing yards per game. In its three consecutive losses to N.C. State, Boston College and Miami, Pitt's defense allowed an average of 305.3 passing yards per game.
If that trend doesn't change, Pitt's pass defense could drop even further down the ACC ranks and be a huge factor in the Panthers at or below .500 for the first time since 2017, making it the second time in Pat Narduzzi's tenure.
Safety and senior captain Damar Hamlin made it clear Wednesday that his teammates are trying to channel their disappointment over the last three games into focus on the basics of their play.
"Of course there's frustration," Hamlin answered when asked if the team is feeling frustrated in its losing streak. "We lost three games straight when we know we should've won them. Work on the little things. Whenever anyone loses a game you try to get back to your fundamentals, practice harder and do everything faster and more physical. We're just hungry. We lost two games by one point and then we lost three straight. We know what we're capable of and we haven't played like who we know we are."
In the losses to N.C. State and Boston College, Pitt's secondary was beat on several one-on-one opportunities by opposing receivers and tight ends. Those problems were key in both one-point losses and had become the storyline of how a once 3-0 team had dropped from being ranked nationally to not receiving a single vote to be in the Associated Press' top 25 poll.
When Pitt was in position to make those plays against Miami, better coverage was exhibited in those matchups. Watch how Hamlin runs with Dee Wiggins down the sideline. You can see his eyes are trained on the receiver and not in the backfield, as he perfectly times his jump and fights through Wiggins' hands to break up the pass:
Hamlin said Pitt addressed this by focusing on more of those basics on how to win those moments in single coverage.
"Watch the film, see what we're doing wrong and make adjustments," Hamlin said on how the secondary worked to improve after getting beat in single coverage several times. "Play the game plan, it's fundamental football. Whenever you see something in the game you might not have done right, you come back to it and work at it harder. Whether it's a deep ball or a missed tackle, take the time to get those fundamentals down so it won't be an issue for the next one."
Speaking of things not done right, Pitt's defense still struggled with the deep ball against Miami.
Pitt's secondary issues against Miami came on busted coverages, where receivers were left unchecked from either missed assignments or being fooled on play action.
Hamlin says a lot of that was from miscommunication and that this week's practices have added increased focus on making sure everyone is on the same page.
"Every rep, before we take the field, we remind everyone to work on communication and stay aggressive," Hamlin said when asked how the team is working to limit busted coverages. "That's something we've emphasized all week. We tell everyone to communicate everything. There's no such thing as too much communication on the field. Communicate everything so that everyone's alert to what can come out of the set we're facing or the next set that's coming."
When Pitt's defense plays fast and aggressive without giving up easy targets, that's when you see more plays get made. The potential is still there for this defense to shape up and fix the passing defense by being more on point. Here's an example where D'Eriq King broke contain on Rashad Weaver but couldn't find an open man on the sideline. When Chase Pine got too close, King fired a pass that was knocked down, and maybe should've been picked by Cam Bright:
Pitt's young defenders showed strong play as well in limiting Miami's passing game. Although the team gave up three deep passing touchdowns, several attempts to expose sophomore cornerbacks A.J. Woods and Marquis King were thwarted by solid coverage down the field.
Watch how Woods runs with this go route down the sideline. You can see him engage with the receiver right off the ball and pin him to the sideline, never letting him get the clean release into the top of his route. This prevents the receiver from creating the separation that King wants to throw a safe deep ball in bounds, and leads to a missed throw out of bounds when he tries to squeeze the pass:
Creating tight passing windows is the key. Collegiate quarterbacks are often used to throwing Into bigger spaces and not tighter windows. Most mistakes happen when a quarterback tries to charge up a pass to fit into a tight window by putting more zip on the ball, and losing the accuracy.
A perfect example of that came on Williams' interception of King, his second of the season, and return to the one yard line. Williams comes off his initial zone down the sideline to pinch the receiver on an out route just as Phil Campbell is pinching the route from the other side. The result is Williams jumping King's throw pushed into the window Williams and Campbell created together, and intercepting the pass:
Williams and Woods being able to contest passes outside the numbers would be huge for Pitt's defense, not just this year but in the years to come.
It's also evidence that this defense can still play the fast and aggressive brand of football Narduzzi preaches, but it has to eliminate the mental gaffes that leave receivers wide open and force quarterbacks to be consistent in their accuracy into those tight passing windows.