When Pitt had its Heisman Trophy quarterback under center in Kenny Pickett in seasons prior, the offense naturally gravitated towards letting him make plays nearly at will.
But, in this year's new-look offense under returning coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., the Panthers' offense was giddy to get its running game going.
So far, so good.
Not only have the 24th-ranked Panthers evolved back into the bruising team that we have become accustomed to over time, but that approach is now becoming a focal point of how this 2022 club operates.
It is not that Pitt didn't run the football last season, but it was more about where the offense's success came from under former coordinator Mark Whipple and with Pickett under center. Sure, Pickett commanded most of the attention, but the running game arguably could have been more effective.
When we spoke to Pitt running backs coach Andre Powell this week, he sported a T-shirt emblazoned with the letters "RBU" inside of an outline of the state of Pennsylvania.
There is no doubt Pitt wants to fully get back to that mantra.
"We're getting better," Powell said. "Sometimes the opponent dictates what you do, but I feel like we're getting better, getting a good rhythm, getting more guys in the game. They more they play and the better they play, there will be more."
With a final tune-up on Saturday against Rhode Island, we could see even more evidence of the Panthers' commitment to running the football. Not just because of the status of the health of quarterback Kedon Slovis, but more so because of the success Pitt has had at gaining on the ground to start its season.
"Coach Cig puts in the best position to win at all times," running back Daniel Carter said, "and last week, we had a freshman quarterback (Nate Yarnell) coming in, so we had to lean more on the run game and stuff like that, so I feel that we're real balanced this year."
No team's offense wants to be one-sided, especially when the conference-only schedule rolls around, just as it will for Pitt in two weeks.
The Panthers aren't looking past Rhode Island, by any means, but having one final tune-up to keep momentum going within the running game is going to be a point to emphasize before Georgia Tech sets foot into Acrisure Stadium.
"I feel like that's good, so we're not one-dimensional," Carter said. "How we were last year, everybody knew we had a Heisman candidate at quarterback who was going to throw the ball 40 times. Now, we can do both, and they don't know what we're doing."
Pitt has shown in each of its two wins that it can do so by air or by ground. The win in the Backyard Brawl largely stemmed from plays made by the defense towards the end -- namely M.J. Devonshire's legendary pick-six -- but the plays Slovis made down the stretch in the second half made all of the difference for the Panthers' offense. Slovis threw for the most yards in a Pitt quarterback's debut since 1998, and he was a perfect 5-for-5 for 73 yards and threw the game-tying touchdown to Israel Abanikanda which later led to Devonshire's pick-six.
Against Western Michigan, the Panthers' deep stable of running backs took over, as was the game plan. Pitt rushed for 238 yards and two touchdowns, and was led by Abanikanda's 31 carries for 137 yards. Saturday gave Abanikanda his second-consecutive game of 100 or more yards on the ground.
"He just ran hard, he made people miss, when there wasn't a clear lane to run through he was able to hit it and press it and get four yards, and when there was a clear lane -- which there was most of the night -- he was able to find a crack," Powell said of Abanikanda's performance at Western Michigan.
"He didn't miss many cuts. Another thing that was impressive is, as the game went, he got stronger. You could tell the opponent was wearing down, and you looked out there at him and he wasn't fatigued."
Pitt is currently ninth among ACC teams in scoring offense at 33 points per game, and while it currently ranks 10th in rushing offense (151.7 YPG), it has averaged 189.5 yards over its last two games, which would be good enough for sixth in the ACC. Last season, Pitt's rushing offense ranked 11th in the ACC at 149.2 yards per game.
Pitt has also had success with running the ball while rotating in offensive linemen at three different spots. Center Owen Drexel was injured in the second half against Tennessee, and Gabe Houy hasn't played yet this season. Terrence Moore checked in at center against Tennessee, Matt Goncalves has started in place of Houy, and Ryan Jacoby and Blake Zubovic have rotated in for playing time. On Saturday, Jake Kradel moved from right guard to start at center, and Zubovic started at right guard.
"Getting the chance to really establish the run is something we weren't able to do last year," Kradel said. "We had Kenny, and we could pass it 60 times a game and be fine. But, us offensive linemen, we love to establish the run. Get something going, set our pads, and then throw the ball when we have to. It's great going into ACC play getting our passes against West Virginia and Tennessee, and then we ran against Western Michigan. We've got to even it out, and whatever it takes to win, it's what we've got to do."
Through three games, Pitt has attempted 129 rushes and 80 passes (excluding dropbacks), which equals to a 61.7% rate of running plays. The Panthers have gained 29 first downs via the run and 30 via the pass, and the team has logged six rushing touchdowns to four from passing.
Abanikanda is currently tied for the ACC lead with 302 rushing yards in three games (along with Florida State's Treshaun Ward and Miami's Henry Parrish Jr.) but a major factor coming into play is Pitt's stable of running backs that involves Carter, Vincent Davis, C'Bo Flemister, and the currently injured Rodney Hammond Jr., which means some touches naturally will come away from Abanikanda.
(Carter reminded us on Wednesday that "people think that I'm a fullback, when I'm not. I play running back. I was recruited here as a running back. I was a four-star.")
Among the three ACC leading rushers, Abanikanda has taken the most carries with 64. Over his last two games, he has rushed for an average of 143.5 yards. Abanikanda is the ACC's current leader in all-purpose yards with 158.7 per game, factoring in his role as the team's kick returner.
Hornung Award Honor Roll ⭐
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 21, 2022
ACC Rushing Leader ✅
ACC All-Purpose Leader ✅
Israel Abanikanda and the O-Line have been putting up impressive numbers 📈
#H2P » #WeNotMe pic.twitter.com/6UPJegTq9i
"Some people mature faster than others," Powell said of Abanikanda, "and every week he's asking more questions, he's getting more involved, you check his notes (and) he's got more notes. The test that we give him on Friday, he's making good grades on those, and so he's just maturing. He's getting the feel. He feels like it's his."
Those tests, by the way, are physical, hard-copy, paper tests that Powell prints out and gives to his running backs the day prior to each week's game. He said they include the opponents' tape study of blitz formations, safety placements, gaps, tendencies, and more.
Hammond broke out for 74 yards and two TDs in the Backyard Brawl, and Davis took 11 carries for 83 yards on Saturday at Western Michigan, which furthers Pitt's claim as having a deep running backs room.
The game plan against Western Michigan called for it, with Yarnell attempting just 12 passes. The Panthers were still able to muscle through the Broncos, despite them often loading up the box and deliberately playing the run.
RBU put on a show in Kalamazoo 🎥
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 18, 2022
48 carries, 250 yards, 2 TD 📈@IAbanikanda @VeeDee_II @c_borius @KING__CARTER5 #H2P » #WeNotMe pic.twitter.com/gYkkzI4hch
Regardless, Pitt has taken this approach in a deliberate fashion.
Powell noted the volume of the Panthers' play book, and how each run stems from the same or similar concepts but from different formations. He said that Cignetti's play sheet contains "probably, I would say 250 plays on it" in total.
"The call list is by groups and stuff like that, so basically he's just trying to break down every group," Carter said. "So it would be like a 21 (personnel -- two running backs, one tight end) and a 12 (one RB, two TEs) and an 11 (one RB, one TE) so just going over those plays every day."