Addison goes ballistic in 77-7 Pitt beatdown of New Hampshire

Pitt needed to straighten some things after its loss to Western Michigan last week, and they did just that in a 77-7 beatdown of New Hampshire. That represents the most points the Panthers have scored in a game since its 88-0 win over Westminster in 1926, and their 690 total yards were the most in program history.

It's the result that's supposed to happen there, and it highlighted how the Panthers should treat an FCS program when they come into Heinz Field.

But to see just how disparate the talent levels were for each team, just watch Jordan Addison on his 47-yard touchdown. While up 35-7 and Pitt behind the sticks after a New Hampshire sack, Kenny Pickett checked it down to Addison in the flat and he took off. 

"After I broke the second tackle and I spun, I saw that alley across the field," Addison said about his run after the catch. "I just used my speed, trusted my blockers and kept going to take the chance to score."

Once Addison kicked into gear, he spun away from defenders as New Hampshire's defense had players flailing all around helplessly as Addison weaved his way to the end zone:

If there's ever a visual needed for what the talent disparity is between FBS and FCS schools, let that play be it. Addison is proving to be an extremely talented receiver, and maybe the next great Pitt receiver, even if his Saturday performance was against an opponent as outmatched as New Hampshire.

"He's a heck of a player," Pickett said of Addison. "That play looked like a high school play, so you know that he's moving when things look like that out there. I'm really proud of him. He's worked so hard and we'll keep moving forward. It takes a lot of work to put on performances like that."

Addison said after the game that he hopes to end up on Sportscenter's Top-10 plays with the 47-yard score.

He finished catching all six targets for 179 yards and three touchdowns, his second consecutive game with three touchdowns, giving him eight scores on the season. Coming into the week, the most by any FBS receiver was six with two players sharing the honor.

MAC and CAA teams aside, not even Larry Fitzgerald had back-to-back three touchdown performances in his time with Pitt. Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant each had three separate three touchdown games during their careers, but none of them back-to-back.

"He's fast, he's explosive," Narduzzi said of Addison. "You see the YAC he's getting. People are at his ankles, and he's making plays. That's what you expect -- guys to make plays when they catch the ball, not catch it and falling down, which is what we did a year ago. Makes Kenny look better when those guys are making plays after the catch. We were kind of shorthanded at receiver with Jared Wayne not being out there today, and I consider him a starter, but he'll be ready to go next week."

Addison was joined by Pickett in another huge game. After throwing six touchdowns against Western Michigan, Pickett connected on 24 of 28 passes for 403 passing yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions. It was his third career game over 400 passing yards, a feat which no other Pitt quarterback had accomplished more than once.

"We know each other's strengths and weaknesses," Addison said of his relationship with Pickett. "He's a great competitor. Every day in practice we go full tilt and work hard so that when game time comes everything will be easy. Every time he's throws a deep ball he's told me just run as fast as I can I can because they can't run with me. You can see our chemistry because every time we make eye contact I just put my hands up and it's a touchdown."

Pitt's receivers continue to put together a strong season and limit drops, which were a major concern over recent years. But after another strong day across the board for the group with touchdown receptions by Addison, Shocky Jacques-Louise and Taysir Mack, Narduzzi feels like they're making true strides.

"I think what's different is attitude," Addison said of Pitt's receivers. "We're starting to believe in ourselves. We just have that confidence that whenever there's a ball in the air, we go up and we're going to get it."

"Yeah, more confident," Narduzzi said of his receivers. "Receivers are catching the ball, too. Really helps when they're catching it at a high rate. Knock on some wood there; they're doing a good job catching the football. Again, I give to credit to Coach Whip (Mark Whipple) and Coach (Brennan) Marion, just the things he does, the drills that he does to make sure that they're making those contested catches and then getting yards after the catch. It takes 11. It's not Kenny all by himself, but he's got an offensive line to protect him and give him time to make those throws and he's got guys making catches."

But despite all the historic success, the Panthers' head coach and players still haven't forgotten the sting of the loss to Western Michigan last week, a MAC opponent who represents the team's only loss as the Panthers end non-conference play at 3-1. As ACC play begins next week against Georgia Tech, Pitt knows this wasn't a test like any of the other coming on its schedule.

"Nothing," Narduzzi said after the game. "Nothing gained, nothing lost. That's what you expect to do, and that's the most impressive thing. I think it's hard to score 77 versus air, so our guys went out and executed. But we've got to be consistent. It's got to be that way every Saturday. You can't dip down and go a different way. We've got to learn from our past mistakes and continue to move forward. There's nothing to gain; 24 hours, we'll put that one to bed and get ready for real football."

There was definitely a sense of needing to set a better tone for Pitt after the disappointing loss last week, and that tone was being set up as early as the day after that loss when Pitt's captains called a players-only meeting to address what had to be fixed.

"I'd say so," Pickett said when asked if Pitt has a chip on its shoulder after the Western Michigan loss. "We had a meeting on Sunday and got things squared away in a players' meeting to get everyone on the same page. Now we need to keep it going heading into ACC play. It was a captains thing and it did help us out."

The meeting allowed everyone to refocus on their individual assignments. The result was the Panthers' cleanest game this season.

"We already are a close-knit group," senior cornerback Damarri Mathis said, who scored a touchdown on an interception in the first quarter. "But there's extra stuff and little things that Kenny does to help us because he's a great leader. He brought us closer as a unit and I respect him a lot. He pushed us to clean up the little things we wouldn't have thought would get us beat, but in reality they can determine ball games."

As much as Narduzzi and his players preach about forgetting a loss after 24 hours, it was clear that wasn't the case with the message this week throughout all the practices leading up to the New Hampshire game.

"It was a wakeup call," Pickett said of the Western Michigan loss. "You can always spin something into a positive. There's always a lot of negative people out there who always look for bad things. But when we look for positives we can get back on track and that's what we did this week."

One of the charges put to the team by Narduzzi this week was to start fast. Pitt hadn't scored on any of its opening offensive drives of the season. Against New Hampshire, the defense scored with a safety and an interception returned for a touchdown, while Pitt's offense scored on its first five possessions.

Now Pitt has to start strong in ACC play as it prepares to face Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. for a third consecutive year next Saturday.

• The defense also made some statements in this game. It took until New Hampshire's fifth drive, late in the first quarter, to gain a first down against the Panthers and it wouldn't have another drive with a first down until there was 1:17 left in the third quarter.

"Set the tone," Mathis said of the defensive message this week. "Everybody followed along with our start. Energy on our defense can be contagious. Getting that safety and that pick turned everybody up and got everyone loose."

Pitt's defense started the game with haymakers, as Habakkuk Baldonado had a sack on the opening play of the game, followed by a tackle for loss by Cam Bright, and then a safety forced by Phil Campbell, who wrapped up New Hampshire's quarterback Bret Edwards in the end zone before he threw away the pass and was called for intentional grounding. It was Pitt's first safety since 2018. It was a big way to start the game after Narduzzi and defensive coordinator Randy Bates said they would push their defensive players to refocus this week.

"Defensively we had to go back to the basics," mike linebacker Wendell Davis said, who led Pitt with five tackles while starting in place of the injured SirVocea Dennis. "We were out of character last week and there were things we had to do better top to bottom. We came out with the mindset to play our own game and focus on us. We have to trust the guy next to us. Do our own job, read our keys and expect the guy next to you to do his job. We have to trust that who ever is next to us that they're out there because they'll do their job."

After the safety, Pitt's offense went right to work by putting up a touchdown. Then, the defense wanted to add another score of its own, doing so in the form of Mathis intercepting a pass at New Hampshire's 35, and returning it down the sideline behind a convoy of Pitt blockers.

"That was just instinct," Mathis said of his interception return. He said he envisioned getting an interception before the game. "A lot of my teammates get on me. They say I can't really catch like that and I don't have any elusiveness. But I showed it a little bit. I couldn't believe the guys all in front of me. I saw that and was like 'woah, I gotta score!' I didn't want to just run into a lineman and everybody would be staring at me for not scoring."

Mathis said it was his first ever interception returned for a touchdown in either high school or college play. It was a great feeling for the senior cornerback who missed all of last season due to a nagging injury that lingered into 2020's summer camp and kept him from playing. Narduzzi noted how when Mathis returned to spring practice in 2021 that he was so excited he was even tackling teammates while they played in shorts without pads.

"It just feels good being back with my team," Mathis said. "Doing what I can to be a team player, and getting back into the motion of things. Tackling, footwork, all of it coming back to me and I feel like I'm back to playing at a high level."

Pitt's defensive showing broke its two-game streak of allowing 30 or more points after allowing 34 points in a win over Tennessee and then 44 points in a loss Western Michigan. The hope for the Panthers is that it sets a new tone that lasts throughout the rest of the season.

"The last game left a sour taste in our mouth," Davis said. "We made a point to come out firing on this game. A game like that could tear the whole team down because we knew we shouldn't have lost that game. But honestly, who knows? Later on this season, that could've been the best thing to happen to us because right now I think we're more together than ever."

• Pitt's run game finally had a complete performance. The Panthers rushed 49 times for 252 yards, but this week's leader was not one of the team's two named starting running backs.

True freshman Rodney Hammond Jr. finished with exactly 100 rushing yards on 17 carries, the first time Pitt's had a running back go for 100 yards this season. He also led the Panthers with three rushing touchdowns, becoming the first true freshman with three rushing touchdowns in game since Dion Lewis against Cincinnati in 2009. 

"Rodney's got some juice when he runs," Pickett said of Hammond. "When he runs, he gets his pads low, he's tough to bring down and great after contact. The O-line loves him because he hits the hole hard and as the season goes, we want to get him confidence and get his feet wet."

Hammond had the most carries for Pitt against UMass in the season opener and has been someone Narduzzi had wanted to get going all season.

"Yeah, he's strong," Narduzzi said of Hammond. "He's physical, gets north and south, and he just wiggles through. He's just going to continue to get better, I think."

"I saw it in camp," Addison said of Hammond. "I just wanted him to get out there a little bit more. Now he's showing people what he can do with the ball in his hands. He makes people miss and fights for the extra yards."

Hammond had some tough, grueling touchdown runs for Pitt, each time scoring inside the five with touchdowns of four, two and three yards. You could see him power through opponents with solid leg drive, extending the play after the first defender to hit him.

"I looked down and saw the end zone," Hammond said. "I just told myself I had to get it. I knew I couldn't let my team down because it might come down to me getting a touchdown. Every touchdown is like the game-winner for me. Every week it's slowing down. As I get more knowledge and I'm learning, every week it's getting better. I expect to make big plays against any defense that lines up in front of me."

Hammond wasn't alone with success on the ground. Israel Abanikanda finished with 75 rushing yards on 13 carries with a 15-yard touchdown, while Vincent Davis took seven carries for 51 yards. There was only one play on which a Panthers' running back was tackled for loss all game. 

Even considering Pitt's season opener over UMass, this was Pitt's most dominant rushing performance, and it came behind an offensive line that adjusted without its starting center in Owen Drexel, as Jake Kradel moved from right guard to center, Gabe Houy moved from right tackle to right guard, and Matt Goncalves took the start at right tackle.

Pitt finally put together a game with good performance on the ground. Even though it was against an FCS opponent in New Hampshire, it was important to put that kind of tape out there for opponents before ACC play.

"We want to prove to every team in the ACC that we can run the ball as well as we throw the ball," Hammond said. "They know we can throw the ball but we have to show them that we can run the ball too. Coach (Andre) Powell is the same guy every week being great, coming with energy and making sure we know everything we're supposed to know."

But if you think that any player, even a true freshman like Hammond, is letting this win get to their head, think again. Every player who spoke after the game from Pickett, to Addison, to Davis, to Mathis, and even Hammond, sounded off on the note Narduzzi left about this week not meaning much in the team's long-term plans for this season.

Hammond, whose three touchdowns were the first scores of his college career, even seemed reserved in his postgame comments, as if he'd already moved on from the performance.

"That's in the past," Hammond said of his game. "I'm getting ready for Georgia Tech. That's over with."