Morrissey says Panthers' O-line close to answers

Pitt's running game saw the most production in over a month when the team snapped its four-game losing streak against Florida State with a 41-17 win Saturday.

The Panthers rushed for 148 yards on 37 carries, good enough for an average of four yards per attempt. The four rushing touchdowns against the Seminoles matched their combined total from the previous five games.

But that's what should happen by most teams against Florida State, as the Seminoles are allowing 193.5 rushing yards per game, ranking 11th in the ACC.

Center and team captain Jimmy Morrissey acknowledged there was improvement from the offensive line Saturday, but that the group remains a work in progress.

"No, we did not," Morrissey said Tuesday when asked if the offensive line finally played like they wanted. "We didn't run the ball like we should have because there were too many mistakes up front. Even though the run game was better than it has been, it's still not where we need it to be. We all agreed upon that and that's why we worked hard today in practice and why we keep working harder. But it's definitely better than what we've seen in the past, for sure."

Morrissey did acknowledge that the plan for the game was good enough to win, but that the offensive line's continues to experience minor setbacks that lead to big problems.

"When you watch the film you keep seeing one guy," Morrissey said. "Sometimes it's me making one bad call and sending the guys in the wrong direction. Sometimes it's the backside guard not being able to cut-off fast enough and letting the defensive tackle in. That's one more thing we're putting emphasis on each week, we have to avoid those small mistakes and get one big play. It's like death by a thousand cuts, one little mistake here and there adds up in the end and that's what we're trying to get rid of."

That's been a theme for a while with this offensive line. Pitt's rushing offense ranks 13th in the ACC with 109.1 yards per game. The "death by a thousand cuts" line from Morrissey is very similar to the analysis I put together on the offensive line in early October. Even if four players win their matchups in the running game, the line consistently has one big letdown that leads to a failed play.

Despite the struggles, Morrissey is encouraged by how his group has continued to meet up late at night -- even when the Panthers were in the middle of a four-game losing streak.

"One thing that I saw was that these guys take losses to the heart," Morrissey said. "Losing is the worst thing in football. It's easy to get crushed by one loss, but when you stack four on top of each other, it's heartbreaking. But every day during that time, I saw the will and the need to improve every day. Nothing changed. When we needed to meet at nights on our own, nobody started to slack-off and not show up because we were losing or slow down how hard they were practicing. We just kept going at it and the biggest thing I saw was the will to improve.

"We have a mature team with a lot of older guys, like myself, who have only a few more games left. We've played a lot of football and our days are counting down. We want to make sure we take advantage of the games we have left. We're not going to lay down, we're making sure we go out there and give it our best in these last games."

As a senior who missed 2018 due to injury, Morrissey is well aware of the limited opportunities he has left to play college football. But he did say that he's considered taking the option of the blanket waiver from the NCAA that would grant him one more year of eligibility due to the complications with COVID-19 to this season.

"I'd be lying to you if I said I hadn't thought about it," Morrissey said. "But I have, and honestly, I'm happy the NCAA has given me the option to come back or leave if I want. But my mindset is on these last couple games and trying to enjoy it. Ever since I got injured in 2018, that's when I locked in. You never know what game might be your last, so I'm going to try to enjoy these last three."

And if Pitt's going to take charge in their last few games, building off Saturday's win is crucial for the offensive line. 

"We have to take them by small increments," Morrissey said about the line's approach to finishing the season. "Take it day by day, then when you're in the game, take it play by play. Try to have a short memory and make sure we learn from those mistakes. Unfortunately we didn't learn fast enough in that four-game losing streak. But glad we were able to get that win and get back on track. We have to focus on the task at hand and not get too caught up on the past."

As Pitt prepares to face Georgia Tech on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Morrissey is working to instill in the younger players a sense of how close the difference is between winning and losing in the ACC.

"It was extremely important," Morrissey said of the win. "Any time you can get a win, it's awesome. It's so hard to get a win in conference play. The margins are really small, so when you do get them, just make sure you take advantage of them. We have a great team and it was good to finally get back on the right side of the win-loss column."

In addition to the importance of these games is the prospect of Morrissey having his parents see him play. 

"The first game they ever missed was the Boston College game (this season)," he said. "They even came for the home games where all they could do was watch from down the street. I'm very happy they're there and I'm glad we're allowed to have some fans."

• Pitt punter Kirk Christodoulou was awarded this week's Ray Guy Award for punter of the week. He averaged more than 50 yards per punt against Florida State, pinning two inside the 20 and putting enough hang-time on his kicks to help Pitt's punt coverage team limit Florida State to no return yards:

This further pushes Christodoulou's strong season for Pitt, as he was nominated to the Ray Guy Award's watch list earlier this season:

Congrats to Kirk Christodoulou @kirkchristo of Pitt @Pitt_FB ! He is officially nominated to our 2020 watch list!
__#RayGuyAward pic.twitter.com/3a0oeIKiVd

— Ray Guy Award (@RayGuyAward) October 7, 2020