Abanikanda, Pitt offense take over against VT
As Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti made his halftime walk from the Panthers’ locker room back to the coaching booth on the fourth floor of Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, he issued a simple edict to his assistant.
“Let’s take over the game.”
What happened in the next 30 minutes of game play wasn’t far from that objective, as Pitt piled up 315 yards, scored 28 points and ran Virginia Tech out of the building in historic fashion over the final 30 minutes to lead the Panthers over the Hokies 45-29.
Along the way, Pitt junior running back Israel Abanikanda turned in a performance that carried his team to victory and broke a few records along the way. With 320 yards and six touchdowns on 36 carries, Abanikanda set a new Pitt high-water mark for rushing yards in a game, breaking the 303 that Tony Dorsett put in the record books 47 years ago.
His six touchdowns also matched the Pitt and ACC single-game scores, and he was the first Power Five/BCS player to rush for 300 yards and score six touchdowns in a game since Ricky Williams in 1998.
But never mind the history books, because what what Pitt’s offense did in the second half on Saturday night - with Abanikanda leading the way - was exactly what Cignetti declared at halftime.
It took over.
And to say that was much-needed for the offense heading into an off week is a considerable understatement. Pitt’s offense was disjointed and out of sync through the first five games, with particularly mighty struggles in last week’s loss to Georgia Tech that saw the Panthers score just one touchdown through the first three quarters.
Taking over a game wasn’t the goal coming out of that upset defeat; Pitt simply needed to produce some kind of consistency. And the first half against Virginia Tech didn’t look like an improvement. The Panthers scored 17 points before halftime, but they also went three-and-out or turned the ball over on their four non-scoring possessions. The 17 points were enough for a lead, but only because Virginia Tech missed an extra point, and the Panthers had 181 yards of total offense while seeming to stumble as much as they succeeded.
In the second half, the stumble/succeed balance shifted in favor of the home team. After going three-and-out on the first possession of the third quarter, Pitt reached the end zone on each of its next two drives, drove deep into Virginia Tech territory after that and then bounced back from a pair of three-and-outs to take over the fourth quarter with two touchdowns and 129 yards on three plays to put the game out of reach.
And if it wasn’t quite the balance Cignetti promised to bring to Pitt when he was hired this offseason - Kedon Slovis threw for 170 yards and an interception on 15-of-28 passing - that kind of running success will do until the real balance shows up.
For now, the Panthers will go into their bye week sitting at 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. They played Saturday’s game missing two starting offensive linemen and one starting receiver and lost a starting defensive end and a starting middle linebacker in the course of the win. Pitt will need as many players back as possible before heading into the final stretch run through the ACC.
It’s anyone’s guess what the next six games will bring. Pitt has to go to Chapel Hill, where it has never won, and Miami, where its last two wins came in 2014 and 1963. And even without 60 years of history working against the Panthers, it’s a stretch to look at any of the final opponents will be easy given the struggles the offense has had in each of his its first six games.
For now, though, Pitt can look forward to a week off with memories of Abanikanda bursting through Virginia Tech’s defense over and over, breaking long run after long run and giving a floundering offense signs of hope that the final six games can be, like the push from the offensive line in the best game it has played all season, a surge.