Lesson learned? Or the dawn of a new trend?
Last week's defeat to 22-point underdog Georgia Tech was the worst suffered by Pitt in the Pat Narduzzi era. In terms of getting the train back onto the tracks and trying to keep the season and a proper ACC championship defense in play, Pitt has very little room for further error and needs a little help from its friends to get by.
There have been four instances during the Narduzzi era in which Pitt was favored by double digits and lost outright:
• Nov. 9, 2017: vs. North Carolina (+10), 34-31
• Oct. 3, 2020: vs. NC State (+14), 30-29
• Sept. 18, 2021: vs. Western Michigan (+14), 44-41
• Saturday: vs. Georgia Tech (+22), 26-21
In 2017, Pitt went 1-1 to close the season following the UNC loss. That included a shocking 24-14 victory over No. 2 Miami, effectively ending the Hurricanes' hope of earning a bid to the College Football Playoff.
In 2020, Pitt allowed the NC State loss to derail a promising season. That started a four-game losing streak that pit the Panthers at a 3-4 start, after opening the season 3-0. They finished 6-5 overall and 5-5 within the ACC, then declined bowl participation during the COVID year.
But, in 2021, the Panthers were able to rebound mightily from the Western Michigan loss, as they went 8-1 from that point and earned the Coastal Division title and an ACC championship, leading them to a Peach Bowl showdown with Michigan State.
Can fortunes repeat themselves from last year?
It all starts on Saturday, with a lowly Virginia Tech team.
"I think it was coach Duzz that said on Sunday, Georgia Tech, they woke a beast," tight end Gavin Bartholomew said. "So, they're going to see a ticked-off team ready to go on Saturday. We're excited, we're ready to roll."
A renewed buzz has been noted throughout the week in practice. During our observation window on Tuesday, I took note of a more serious and a more deliberate tone, and the players have followed it up by saying as much that this week has given an extremely woken-up feel.
Many of those details were hedged in the Georgia Tech game -- both from the players and the coaches -- and the Panthers couldn't establish any form of offensive identity against the Yellow Jackets. Some of the mistakes were self-inflicted, but too many were as a result of the lack of the necessary details that Pitt players and coaches often preach and preach loudly about.
"Our knowledge, details have got to get better," Narduzzi said this week. "You see the little, little details that are hard to see on videotape for the normal eye. We have to clean those up. In the game of football, if one guy doesn't do it the right way, you have 10 guys that are busting their tails, doing everything right. One guy, defense, offense, special teams, for that matter, good things don't happen."
There's the elephant in the room that Narduzzi mentioned -- when one guy goes out of place and doesn't do his job the right way, Pitt has unraveled.
Take, for example, the numerous missed tackles from the Georgia Tech game, or the sloppy routes run by wide receivers in Week 1 against West Virginia, or the lack of execution in allowing two explosive plays to result in scores in the first half of the Rhode Island game.
That cannot happen in ACC play. Teams are too talented and well-coached in this league to allow for even the smallest of crack to become a crater.
"It's a game of inches, as we always say," wide receiver Jared Wayne said. "A couple of things just didn't go our way, and it's hard to get in a rhythm and really get started if things aren't going your way. We've just been focused on the details this week and executing."
But it was more than a couple things that didn't go Pitt's way on Saturday. And the result from that game is a crescendo of a batch of missed notes from previous weeks leading up to it.
Virginia Tech isn't a world beater by any means, but it presents a unique challenge from its head coach and coordinators running the show.
Head coach Brent Pry is the former defensive coordinator at Penn State, serving in that role from 2016-2021, before he was announced as the Hokies' coach in November.
Pry commandeered the Nittany Lions' defense in each of the four meetings Pitt had with Penn State from 2016-2019, in which Penn State won three of the four. In the four meetings, Penn State nearly doubled Pitt's scoring output in posting a 140-72 margin.
Narduzzi has noted that Virginia Tech brings a Penn State "flavor" to the program, with Pry leading as the head coach and former Lions tight ends coach Tyler Bowen joining him as the team's offensive coordinator.
"You'll see some of that flavor defensively," Narduzzi said. "You'll see some Penn State offensive stuff as well. Really both sides of the ball.
"(Pry's) got his mark on defense. They're playing really good defense, which he did when he was at Penn State. That's why he got that job down there, because of the consistency, the type of defensive product he put on the field.
"They're playing really good defense. He's got an old Penn Stater that's running his offense. You see what he'd like to do, what his vision of an offense and a defense is on a football team."
Pitt hasn't played a complete four quarters yet, and it may not do so on Saturday against Virginia Tech. It does seem, however, that the mistakes and the mishaps are becoming more clearly defined within the locker room and within the walls of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
"The details are huge," Wayne said. "Just executing, doing your job, if you have all 11 guys doing their job as one, then it makes it a whole lot easier."
Bartholomew used the phrased "ticked off" in describing the locker room's feeling toward the current situation. When Narduzzi was made aware of this on Thursday, here is what he said:
"Oh, good. See, I don't hear all of this. They don't tell me anything. You guys must've got some good interviews this week. I didn't notice any more ticked off than normal.
But...
"The kids are different than the coaches," Narduzzi continued. "Let's face it, I didn't see them more ticked off this week than they were last week or the week before."
Was Narduzzi ticked off?
"Yes. I'll guarantee you that."
Maybe the Georgia Tech loss was exactly what the Panthers needed?
THE ESSENTIALS
• Who: Virginia Tech (2-3, 1-1 ACC) at Pitt (3-2, 0-1 ACC)
• When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Acrisure Stadium
• Spread: Pitt -14.5
• Weather: 56°, Partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain, 8 mph. winds
• TV: ACC Network
• TV broadcasters: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Taylor Davis (reporter).
• Radio: 93.7 The Fan, 92.1 WPTS-FM (Pitt student broadcast)
• The Fan broadcasters: Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), Pat Bostick (analyst), Larry Richert (reporter), Dorin Dickerson (reporter).
• Streaming: ESPN App
• Satellite: SiriusXM channel 113 or 371, SXM app channel 955
• Live stats
• Media notes: Virginia Tech / Pitt
TEN TO WATCH
• #2 Israel Abanikanda -- Will he play? Will he not play? Abanikanda missed the second half against Georgia Tech and was shown on the ACC Network broadcast with his arm in a sling.
Narduzzi offered this on Thursday as he walked out of his end-of-the-week briefing: "I like where Izzy is right now."
Take what you will from that.
• #6 Rodney Hammond -- Regardless of Abanikanda's status, Hammond is missed in Pitt's backfield. Hammond has spent the last two games on Pitt's sideline in sweatpants, but the good news to note here is that he was not wearing a walking boot during last week's game for the second straight week. Based on that, he's getting closer to a return than he would have been otherwise. We're unsure if that's this Saturday, but the signs are encouraging.
• #8 Calijah Kancey -- He was selected to the Pro Football Focus team of the week last week for his stellar performance against Georgia Tech -- 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack. The preseason Associated Press All-American is currently on pace to have a better statistical year this year than he did last year.
• #9 Kedon Slovis -- Under no circumstance can Slovis hold on to the ball for as long as he did over his last two games. Decisions have to be made quicker, the timing has to be right, and the ball has to come in sharp if Pitt's offense is going to get back on track.
• #14 Marquis Williams -- Williams had an interesting time in trying to defend Georgia Tech 6-foot-7 receiver E.J. Jenkins last week. Jenkins had just two catches for 54 yards and a TD, but both balls had to be brought in through coverage, and Williams was the unfortunate task-bearer in giving up a 33-yard play to him in the first quarter. Williams did break up a pass intended for Jenkins on the very next play, so he made up for it. This week, Williams gets Kaleb Sims, Virginia Tech's leading receiver at 50 yards per game.
• #15 Bub Means -- Means' number was called just twice last week, largely due to him struggling to get open. Let's see if he bounces back.
• #22 Vincent Davis -- If one or both of Abanikanda or Hammond can't play, Davis will be thrust into another major role on Saturday. He lost two fumbles against Georgia Tech, and Narduzzi said he was pleased with Davis' response in practice this week.
"Outstanding," Narduzzi said. "Like I know Vince does. Even today, we were going into a period and he had a ball in his hand, and I came from behind trying to punch it out, and he goes, 'Come on coach! That was last week! I got this!' and I couldn't get anything out. But that's how he is, it's not like he's 'Oh my gosh' nervous about ball security."
• #61/84 Ryan Jacoby -- Jacoby has played some tight end as a part of Frank Cignetti Jr's "jumbo" package involving three-tight end personnel or zero-RB personnel. He registered a reception last week.
"He tries to come into our meetings sometimes," Bartholomew said. "He tries to fit in. ... (His catch) was a hell of a catch. That was awesome. I don't know how he came down with that."
• #78 Branson Taylor -- If Carter Warren can't go again at left tackle, expect Taylor to earn his second straight starting nod.
• #86 Gavin Bartholomew -- It could just be me, but I'd like to see Bartholomew run more routes and be utilized more in the passing game. He has just 11 catches for 188 yards -- 37.6 per game -- with his two TDs in five games.
