Crisan: Let Pitt's win over Syracuse build confidence for a season-ending run taken at Acrisure Stadium (Pitt)

Pitt Athletics

C'Bo Flemister.

Let's open up and face the reality of the situation.

Looking at the ACC standings, Pitt is officially mathematically eliminated from contention of the Coastal Division, by virtue of North Carolina beating Virginia on Saturday.

At 5-4 overall and 2-3 within the ACC, though, the opportunity is still there to claim winning records and attain a respectable bowl game.

I fully understand why some might scoff at this, as the expectation built before the season was that Pitt was a contender to potentially repeat as ACC champions and have a strong follow-up to that title.

That is chalked. It is not happening. Feel how you want about it, but we have already labeled it as a disappointment and a failure with respect to those expectations. We put that to bed in detail and eulogized the title defense last week. 

After the Panthers' 19-9 victory over No. 20 Syracuse at Acrisure Stadium, we can now fully refocus on short-term goals and see where opportunities lie for Pat Narduzzi and Co. to build for a strong finish.

It all starts with the confidence from within. Two weeks in a row, Pitt faltered in surrendering a combined 38 points in the fourth quarter, while being shut out offensively, which effectively washed away any realistic possibility of that title defense being a reality.

But the Panthers held the line and retained their confidence with a lockdown performance of the Orange on Saturday, setting what could be the tone for the final month of the regular season.

"I think it's a lot," two-time team captain Deslin Alexandre said. "I think it's a stepping stone, just to show that no matter what we go through, we're going to continue pushing and we're never going to put our heads down, and we're going to keep fighting until the last snap. That's what we talked about the whole weekend before the game, and we were able to do that tonight."

It takes some serious soul searching and going through stages of acceptance in order to do this. The ebbs and flows of this season have felt more like deep dives and rapid ascents. The Panthers are a totally different team compared to the one which set foot onto the field for the Backyard Brawl and the subsequent overtime loss to now-top-ranked Tennessee. Injuries have happened, players have come and gone, and the coaching staff has learned about which players have staying presences and which could have been phased out.

That last point, with the exception of one.

It is clear that the Kedon Slovis experiment has been an abject disaster this season, and he has been a shell of what we expected him to be as a transfer out of Southern California. A 124.4 quarterback rating, a 5:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and a 59.3% completion rate just won't cut it. If not for Israel Abanikanda's All-American caliber season, who knows where the Panthers' offense would be?

To be clear, Slovis hasn't had to be Dan Marino this season; he just couldn't be... whatever this is.

And, the chances for a surge next week at Virginia are slim. The Cavaliers have the No. 3 passing defense in the ACC at 204.0 yards allowed per game, so a hopeful return of Abanikanda, along with the re-emerging Rodney Hammond Jr. and newly emerged C'Bo Flemister will in all likelihood have to shoulder the load for the offense.

"You've just got to keep trying to improve and get better," Slovis said. "You've got to take everything as a learning experience. Football's a game of ups and downs, and that's why it's a great game, it's probably one of the harder games out there. But it's a team sport. There's going to be adversity, and they way the guys come together as a team, you've got to handle it.

"It's a good football team that we played. We've got three more guarantees, and going into those last three, you've got to have a lot of confidence. Getting that win helps."

It was refreshing to see Flemister break out against the Orange. His day was earmarked by one singular drive toward the end of the third quarter, carrying the ball on 10 of Pitt's 11 plays from scrimmage and gaining 42 yards and rushing for the TD. Entering Saturday, Flemister had 11 carries for 45 yards in eight games. 

He became the fifth Panthers running back to score a rushing touchdown this season, and his emergence could add another layer to what is already a strong ground game with Abanikanda leading the way.

"That series, in our offense, I know we're going to run the ball, so if I'm in there, I know I'm going to get it," Flemister said. "So it's just staying prepared, making sure I'm reading my keys, not being too fast, not trying to make too much happen, and just running downhill. Trusting my eyes, trusting what I see, and most of all, trusting my guys. They were making it real easy for me. I know Syracuse likes to move a lot, stunt a lot, but they were handling that, passing it off, and them attaching to a man allowed me to use my eyes, use my ability to make a play."

So, with three running backs running strong and the best of the bunch coming back soon, let that identity carry the Panthers -- pun intended -- to the end of the season. For better or worse, the passing offense at this point is what it is, and Narduzzi won't shy away from Slovis as his starting quarterback, so the offense will have to be what it will be.

But the defense had to step up, and it did so emphatically on Saturday. Pitt rolled Syracuse and backup quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson in nearly every facet, including by limiting them to 3.0 yards per play, keeping All-American running back Sean Tucker stifled to 19 yards on 10 carries -- he has rushed for just 71 yards on 27 carries in three career games against Pitt -- and holding the Orange to just one red zone trip.

Alexandre and fellow captain SirVocea Dennis were everywhere for Pitt, adding to Calijah Kancey's dominance up front. Alexandre and Dennis combined for 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks, while Alexandre's sack on Del Rio-Wilson in the endzone forced a safety late in the game.

Those three will need to be on their "A" game in these three games to close the season, especially with two of those matchups being favorable to Pitt's defense. While Duke has the No. 3 offense in the ACC, Virginia is averaging just 18.1 points per game for 13th in the ACC, and Miami's 24.7 points per game rank 10th.

"It definitely lets the guys know that if we lock in on the details and the game plan and really know what we want to do, we can do anything," Dennis said. "We can have a good game, have a great time, and have fun doing it. ... Winning is everything. I know you look at anything you can within a football game or within life, really, and all you want to do is win. Winning is everything. If we have that winning streak, it would mean the world to us."

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