2019 issues linger into 2020
In order for Pitt to have a successful season in 2020, the team needs to show growth from last year. The Panthers are now 2-0 following a 21-10 victory over Syracuse, but some issues that cost the team close games in 2019 started creep back onto the field on Saturday. Despite that, Pitt used a dominant defensive effort and did just enough to pull out its first ACC win of the season
Pitt struggled to score in the second half of games in 2019, and the Panthers only registered one touchdown after halftime on Saturday. The Panthers were one of the most penalized teams in the country a year ago, and they finished with seven against Syracuse, including some very costly miscues.
"It was a lot uglier than I would like it to be and I told the team afterwards," Narduzzi said in his postgame press conference. "Just disappointed more with just the penalties that we had, just some stuff that you don't expect to happen at all.
The rushing game only averaged 2.9 yards a carry and the line at times struggled to protect Kenny Pickett. Those are two things that are very reminiscent of the 2019 Panthers after finishing 118th in the country a season ago in rushing offense.
Pitt had opportunities to make the game a runaway on Saturday, but following the third quarter touchdown to put itself up 21-10, the team could not punch in another score to make it a more comfortable victory.
Pat Narduzzi was asked about his team’s inability to find a killer instinct on Saturday that it lacked last season.
“Of course, we would like to,” he said. “I think that's the disappointing thing. And, again, we kind of kept them in the game. We could have knocked them out early in the third quarter. We gave them opportunities and, again, defense stood up and survived.”
The Pitt defense played a near flawless game, like it did so often in 2019. Syracuse could only muster 171 yards of total offense and finished a 2.9 yard per play average. Aside from one long touchdown, the Panthers defense held strong and finished with seven sacks and forced two turnovers. Pitt only allowed one yard in the fourth quarter on Saturday to help preserve the victory.
The Pitt offense did not carry its weight most of the afternoon and for this team to get to where it wants to go, that needs to change in a hurry. Pitt finished 2019 as the 113th ranked scoring offense after posting a mere 21.2 points per game, the same output the offense generated on Saturday.
It was a combination of things that led to a lackluster offensive showing: lack of explosive plays, dropped passes, an ineffective running game, and poor offensive line play.
The Pitt head coach wanted to credit Syracuse’s defense for some of the problems, though he hopes to learn more after watching the film.
“We'll look at the tape, but we knew, they always have a good pass rush,” he said. “They did a couple things different, which we knew they would, like everybody's going to do. But they got a great coverage. They got a great secondary. That's the strength of their defense.”
Narduzzi always preaches the biggest improvement is from week one to week two, and Saturday felt like the team left a lot on the table after dominating Austin Peay to open the season. He’s hoping the changes come next week when a top-20 Louisville team is set to come to Heinz Field.
“We just didn't come out and execute,” he said. "And, again, give Syracuse credit. At times they made some plays, but you make your best improvements, maybe we'll make our best improvements from ACC 1 to ACC 2. The great thing is you get a win and we can go coach them hard on Sunday when we watch that tape and fix a lot of things.”