Somewhere along the way, something broke in Pitt’s offense.

At some point during the first eight weeks of the 2022 season, or maybe at some point prior to the season, or maybe at some point in the aftermath of a record-breaking best-season-in-40-years, something broke.

Now that offense, which was expected to put a respectable product on the field in the hunt of a second consecutive ACC championship, has cost the team two wins and is staring down the possibility of more defeats in the final five games.

When it comes to Pitt’s 4-3 record, there’s no one to blame but the offense. And there’s a lot of blame to go around on that side of the ball.

But here’s what doesn’t make sense.

It doesn’t make sense that Pitt’s offense is this bad. When preseason predictions had the Panthers winning 10 games, repeating at Coastal Division champions, pushing for a repeat conference title and possibly being in the conversation for the College Football Playoffs, they weren’t predictions that had been offered in the absence of evidence. Because there was plenty of reason to think this offense would be far more effective than it has been.

There was a former Power Five conference player of the year at quarterback. A freshman All-American at receiver. Another one at tight end. There were five returning starters on the offensive line, a pair of very talented running backs and some competent pieces at receiver.

All of those players had resumes. All of them had had success. None of the preseason expectations for this offense were based on the unseen potential of a highly-ranked freshman. None of it was based on the heretofore unrealized potential of a transfer. None of it was based on little-used reserves being successful in their elevation to the starting lineup.

This offense was going to rely on players who had done it before. Players who had shown they could be successful. 1-11, this offense was going to have the personnel of a conference championship roster.

Injuries have cut into that some, to be sure. The quarterback missed a game and a half. The returning offensive linemen haven’t played a snap as a group of five. The freshman All-American receiver missed a game. The freshman All-American tight end was limited early in the season. One of the running backs missed five games.

That’s part of the story, and it can’t be ignored.

But the math can’t be ignored either. And the math is this:

Kedon Slovis (58 touchdown passes in three years at USC)

Konata Mumpfield (8 touchdowns on 63 receptions as a freshman at Akron)Gavin Bartholomew (28 catches and 4 touchdowns as a freshman at Pitt)Jared Wayne (47 catches and 6 touchdowns in his most recent season at Pitt)Two really talented running backsA mostly effective offensive line

= An offense that couldn’t top a measly 10 points against a Louisville team that had given up at least 31 to every ACC team it has faced this season

(See also: An offense that couldn’t score more than seven points in three quarters against a Georgia Tech that had fired its coach five days earlier)

That math - that’s what doesn’t make sense.

Slovis, for all of his considerable and mighty struggles, which included two really bad decisions on Saturday night, didn’t forget how to play quarterback. Bartholomew, who produces seemingly every time he touches the ball, didn’t forget how to play tight end. Mumpfield didn’t forget how to play receiver. Neither did Wayne. And Israel Abanikanda, the lone bright spot on the offense this season, didn’t forget how to play running back (he’s got the stats to back that up).

But when all of these ingredients have been put into the pot, the end result has been disastrous. The whole has been worse than the sum of its parts, and while Pitt fans will spend this week like they spent Saturday night - debating whether Slovis should have been benched at halftime - the bigger question remains:

Why has this collection of talent fallen so far short of expectations? Those expectations were based on lived experience, actual production and real resumes built at Power Five and FBS schools from USC to Akron to Pitt.

Why has that not translated to the field in 2022?

That question needed to be at the forefront of Pat Narduzzi’s mind Saturday night. It needed to dominate his thoughts on the flight from Louisville to Pittsburgh, the bus from Pittsburgh International Airport to the South Side and the drive from the South Side to Narduzzi’s home. Because that separation, that disconnect between what these players should be able to do and what they are doing - it’s rapidly sinking a promising season.

If it’s not sunk already.