MORE HEADLINES - Five takeaways from Pitt's 56-14 win over Duke | Video: Quadree Henderson talks about his big game | Galambos on the win | Pitt put out a new offer prior to Saturday's game | Video: Narduzzi's post-game
In last week’s 43-42 win at Clemson, Pitt got what it needed when it finally beat a tough opponent in a close game.
In Saturday’s 56-14 win over Duke at Heinz Field, the Panther got something else they needed:
Aesthetically, an honest-to-God blowout; practically, a comfortable win.
“It’s just nice to get one like that where you can relax,” Pat Narduzzi said after the game.
There haven’t been many opportunities for Pitt to relax this season. After the 28-7 season-opening win over Villanova, the Panthers have been fighting for their lives in every game. They needed an interception in the end zone to preserve a three-point win over Penn State. Oklahoma State scored late in the fourth quarter to beat Pitt by a touchdown. North Carolina scored the go-ahead touchdown with two seconds left.
Pitt beat Marshall by 16 points, but the Panthers’ lead was only three with less than two minutes to go in the game. A field goal from Chris Blewitt as time expired gave Pitt a win over Georgia Tech. The Panthers were clinging to a touchdown lead in the fourth quarter at Virginia. Virginia Tech beat Pitt by a touchdown. And while the loss at Miami was more or less a blowout, Pitt pulled off the most heart-stopping win of all one week later when Blewitt nailed a 48-yard game-winner to beat Clemson.
10 games and eight of them saw Pitt in a one-score situation - leading or trailing - in the fourth quarter. On Saturday, Pitt reversed the trend, scoring more than 50 points against an FBS opponent for the first time since 2013 (when the Panthers scored 58 against Duke). The 42-point win was also the biggest margin of victory against an FBS opponent since Pitt beat UCF 52-7 in 2006 and the largest win over a conference opponent since the Panthers topped Rutgers 42-0 in 2001.
“It felt real good to get a win without having to count on a field goal or another touchdown,” junior cornerback Avonte Maddox said after the win.
Pitt jumped out early on Duke, but the Blue Devils looked like they might be able to force another game that was close for four quarters. After Quadree Henderson busted off a 52-yard touchdown run and the Panthers’ defense forced Duke to punt for the fourth consecutive time, the rout seemed to be on.
But then Nathan Peterman was intercepted by Duke cornerback Bryon Fields, who took the pick 36 yards to the end zone for a touchdown that cut Pitt’s lead to 21-14. The Panthers responded by scoring on their next possession and four of their five drives in the second half.
35 unanswered points was the kind of response Narduzzi thought his team was capable of.
“I challenged them in the second half out come out, you know, zero-zero, and really give us the best 30 minutes of football that they had,” he said. “And they really did. In my two seasons here, that’s one of the nicer victories.”
From another explosive offensive performance (three of that unit’s touchdowns came on plays of at least 48 yards) to game-changing special teams (Pitt’s first punt return for a touchdown since 2013) and the best defensive performance of the season (Duke’s rushing offense that averaged 173 yards per game was held to 25 and the Blue Devils scored just one touchdown), Saturday’s game goes down as the Panthers’ most dominant performance all season.
“It was awesome,” senior linebacker Matt Galambos said. “It was definitely a total team game, especially the defense; we only let up one touchdown. During the year, we kind of let up a lot of points on ‘D’, so it was good to finally - especially coming off the last game, a big game, we didn’t want to have a hangover and not focus on Duke. We knew we had to come out firing right away, so it was good.”
Now 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the ACC, Pitt will finish the regular season against Syracuse at Heinz Field next Saturday.
