Can Davis carry Pitt's run game back to prominence?

It took 11 games, but we finally saw Vincent Davis and the Panthers deliver a strong performance on the ground.

Now, we must wait an entire offseason to see whether the break-out effort can carry over to next year. 

Davis led the Panthers with 247 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown in a 34-20 win over Georgia Tech on Thursday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium in the season finale. The Panthers (6-5) finished with 317 rushing yards on 54 carries as a team.

Pitt's rushing attack was mostly nonexistent, averaging 104.5 yards over its first 10 games. That ranked the Panthers 13th in the ACC, only ahead of Boston College and Syracuse.

The improvement of the ground game had been a major theme entering 2020. Pat Narduzzi made it clear the team was looking for more from the group and committed to finding answers as the season progressed.

And for a school like Pitt that has an amazing legacy of running backs such as Tony Dorsett, Craig Heyward, Curtis Martin, LeSean McCoy and James Conner, not having at least a decent rushing game seems like sacrilege.

All season long, Narduzzi stuck by Davis once he was promoted to starter after the team's opener against Austin Peay. His most rushing yards came in his first start with 63 yards on 17 carries against Syracuse.

He broke that mark on the first play of Thursday's game with a 74-yard run on a cutback behind a trap block from Jake Kradel:

And it kept going from there.

"He ran like a big dog for a little guy that guy's got a lot of power and quickness," Narduzzi said. "He opened up the game with a big long run. That first play was a trap and it was a great way to start fast. We started slow like a turtle in our last outing. Our O-line blocked well and our backs ran hard."

"This was my first time rushing for even 200," Davis said, including his high school career. "That first run set the tone. We knew what type of game it was going to be."

Pitt's offensive line was also back to full strength after missing Gabe Houy, Carter Warren and Jake Kradel in recent games due to COVID-19. But this time the starting line included freshman Matt Goncalves replacing Warren at left tackle with Bryce Hargrove at left guard, Jimmy Morrissey at center, Kradel at right guard and Houy at right tackle.

"It was great," Morrissey said. "Felt very dominant up front. It was a fun game. Whenever you rush for that many yards it's a good time. It was a culmination of practicing hard and well. We had a good week of practice coming off a bye week. We were rested and we felt like we left too many points out there against Clemson. It wasn't a performance we felt reflected our offense. Coach Dave Borbely put together a great run plan, coach (Mark) Whipple called a great game and Vincent ran well when we blocked well. Put that all together and you've got success."

And Davis wasn't just running through open holes, either. He ran through defenders by keeping his legs pumping on contact until he broke free.

"Vincent Davis is pound for pound one of the toughest guys on our football team," Narduzzi said. "He gets tossed around some games but he keeps swinging. Our O-line did a heck of a job pushing the pile. That last drive where they had to burn all three timeouts was a gutty performance from our offense in general."

Watch how Davis follows Hargrove's pull block in the hole as he accelerates. You can see him being a patient runner waiting for his blocks to develop before bouncing off defenders to fight for extra yardage:

He was feeling it, as was his line.

Watch how the line creates the crease for Davis' 38-yard touchdown run. Morrissey seals the defensive tackle to the inside, while Hargrove seals his man to the outside, as Kradel gets to the second level and walls off a linebacker just enough for Davis to hit the hole:

You can watch as Davis looks back to the sideline to see if he should score or drop to the ground to run the clock. That's how clean he was on that run.

"We just wanted to run the clock down as much as we could," Davis said of that final drive. "I should've slid on the 1-yard line, but hey, got that touchdown."

The touchdown culminated a drive that went 75 yards in nine plays, taking 4:01 off the clock and leaving Georgia Tech with just two minutes and a 13-point deficit. It ultimately closed out the night, a feeling Pitt's ground game hasn't had in a while. Davis said after the game that during the four-game losing streak across October, the team got closer and it led to the bonds that built this performance.

Toward the end, Pitt's physical dominance appeared to frustrate Georgia Tech's players, drawing three personal fouls. One that wasn't called was a late bump from a defender on Davis after his touchdown, something he tried to embellish. 

"It's just football," Davis said. "We all talk junk throughout the game. It wasn't anything serious. I did try to draw the flag with a flop and do my LeBron. I am the guy that talks junk. I'm the small guy who's always talking."

Davis was doing plenty of talking after the game too, especially about how the team was planning to celebrate the win:

But a performance like that to finish off the regular season does deserve celebrating, especially after the doubt surrounding the ground game all year. Whether or not that performance can carry over to next year is the question.

Morrissey is expected to declare for the NFL Draft after he took part in Senior Day activities against Virginia Tech last month. But the rest of the offensive line that started Thursday is expected to return, as is Davis.

If there's hope for this ground game to evolve into a more consistent threat, it rests with those young players.

• The intensity of the game between the two teams seemed to carry over after the final whistle sounded. Even with Georgia Tech's head coach Geoff Collins, who could be seen barking at the ACC referees through most of the second half.

Then, this happened when Narduzzi went to meet him after the game:

A rivalry has emerged: Geoff Collins and Pat Narduzzipic.twitter.com/waFvsuLG5D

— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) December 11, 2020

Narduzzi seemed surprised.

"I just said, 'hey, you've got a great team.'," Narduzzi said when asked about the altercation. "And he said, 'that's bologna' in not as nice words and walked off. I don't know, I thought it was good game."

• Rashad Weaver and safety Damar Hamlin opted out of the team's final game. Both are seniors who are expected to declare for the NFL Draft.

"We had conversations all through the week," Narduzzi said when asked about both players' decisions. "I totally support those guys. They had decisions they had to make for personal reasons. We had great conversations and they did what they had to do. That gave other guys opportunities to make plays. Erick Hallett had a nice game and started it off with an interception. Gave us an opportunity to start getting ready for 2021. Hopefully it's not another COVID year."

But Pitt's best senior, Patrick Jones, didn't sit out from the game. He made it clear he was never going to, and that he wanted to be there with his teammates. He didn't add to his total of nine sacks, but he got what he wanted just by playing.

"I was locked in and wanted to be there with my boys," Jones said. "It felt good ending our conference career with a win. They're my brothers and I love playing with them."