After a scoreless first half, the Blue team took down the Gold team, 14-7, in the annual Pitt Blue-Gold Spring Game at Heinz Field.

Blue, coached by new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, found its stride in the second half with a downfield passing attack that generated 228 yards throughout the game between Kenny Pickett, Jeff George Jr and Justin Sliwoski.

Pickett, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 125 yards, connected with Tre Tipton for two touchdowns in the third quarter, a 13-yard completion and a 22-yard completion, that built a lead that Blue would not relinquish. The first touchdown, Tipton said, was a happy accident.

“We actually ran the wrong play. We looked at each and we were like it worked, so we’ll take it,” Tipton said. “But he came up, he made a great play, a great pass. It was smooth.”

Pickett and Tipton’s connection was part of game-wide trend of passing success. With the offenses struggling to gain rushing yards behind mix-and-matched offensive lines, both teams went to the air. Nick Patti got the start for Gold, but freshman quarterback Davis Beville had the most success of the two, completing 13 of 17 passing for 157 yards and a touchdown, an 11-yarder to Will Gragg with 18 seconds left in the game.

An offense that struggled to gain traction in the passing game last season has been, at least for now, reinvigorated by Whipple’s scheme, which has put a focus on stretching the field. Between the two teams, seven passes of 20-plus yards were completed. Taysir Mack led Blue with 57 yards, while Shocky Jacques-Louis led Gold with 51.

“It was definitely an emphasis this spring,” Pickett said of improving the passing game. “We were stretching the field a bit more with some more explosive gains in the passing game. But I think overall as an offense we took a spot forward in the spring.”

As is par for the course, Pitt held back of its offense, Pickett said, as they revealed just 2 of 13 installs on Saturday. Perhaps as a result, both defenses had success, combining for eight total sacks, six of which came from Blue. Blue had just -12 net rushing yards, while Gold had -20.

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said he would grade the offensive line a C+, or perhaps a C, yet was not totally displeased with the performance, giving credit to the defenses, particularly the defensive lines.

“The d-line has been solid all spring,” Narduzzi said. “They are probably the strength of our football team.”

Before Blue eventually got going and took control in the second half, it was largely a defensive stalemate in the first half. The teams combined had just one first down in the first quarter. Gold, headed by a 39-yard pass from Beville to Jacques-Louis, got into Blue terrority in the 2nd quarter and attempted a 50-yard field goal, but alas, Alex Kessman’s attempt was missed.

Afterwards, Pickett and Blue got rolling and Gold could not answer until it was too late. Gold would come close to scoring twice before that, driving into the red zone before both drives stalled out, the first ending with a pass by Nick Patti that was tipped by Saleem Brightwell and intercepted by Paris Ford.

Ford, who Narduzzi currently said is a starter at boundary safety, was a standout. In addition to the pick, Ford had seven tackles, proving to be a sure tackler in the run game.

“He’s a football player,” Narduzzi said. “That interception is just what you see all the time. He’s had a tremendous spring.”

With the spring game over, Pitt will now have a several month break before training camp, and eventually, its season opener on August 31st against Virginia.