Five quick takeaways from Pitt's 45-3 loss to Notre Dame

Embarrassing Loss

Pitt has had a few humbling losses at Heinz Field through the years, but this one ranks up there with any of them for the top spot. The 2018 51-6 loss to Penn State comes to mind, as does the 31-3 loss to Miami in 2010. But the 2020 Notre Dame game will not be remembered fondly for years to come.

Pitt was a two-score underdog coming into today. Notre Dame is a top-5 team, and it is not terribly surprising the Fighting Irish came out and took care of business against a team that was clearly outmatched. The lack of offense for Pitt was once again jarring to see, even without the starting quarterback on the field. The Panthers never really threatened to score and never even made it to the red zone. Only one drive covered more than 40 yards of offense, and of course that possession ended with Pitt punting from the Notre Dame 37-yard line. Pitt finished with just ten first downs total on the afternoon.

Saturday was a national TV game and Pitt couldn’t move the ball. The team racked up double digit penalties…again. There was not really one positive thing you could take from Saturday, it was a disaster on offense, defense, and special teams. The issues that have hampered this team all season were on full display for a national audience to see. It was not a good look.

Taking a long look

Where is this football program heading? Pitt is in the sixth-year Pat Narduzzi’s tenure, and this season was supposed to be the big leap forward for him. Seven games into the 2020 campaign, it has fallen off a cliff. Pitt is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, the first one of those in a single season since 2007. Something needs to change and at this point and who else do you hold accountable other than the coaching staff? Does Pitt shuffle things up mid-season, or do changes come following the season? Pitt still has some difficult games ahead, including the season finale against No. 1 Clemson. This season can get worse, and that’s the sobering reality right now for Pitt.

Quarterback problem

Kenny Pickett missed his second consecutive game with an ankle injury. Pitt opted to go with Joey Yellen as the No. 1 quarterback once again, and it did not go as well as his first start did in Miami. Yellen finished the day 10-of-27 for 101 yards and three interceptions. He did not have any support in the running game, but Yellen’s throws were off most of the day and he was replaced by Davis Beville. The redshirt freshman attempted one pass, an incompletion, and rushed for four yards on three carries. Pitt then went to Nick Patti to close out the game. Patti played with mostly reserves at that point and finished 2-of-5 for 17 yards

Pitt now has a lot of quarterback questions heading into the final four games of the season. There is some optimism Pickett could return soon, and that would be the best possible outcome for this team. If he’s still injured for the team’s Novemebr 7th game against Florida State, then this team has a problem. No quarterback is sticking out right now behind Pickett and the team finished with 162 yards of total offense in the loss to the Irish.

The Blocked punt

Notre Dame scored a touchdown with 1:29 left in the first half to go up to 21-3. The outlook of the game did not look promising at that particular juncture, but the Irish did give the Panthers enough time to at least drive the ball and take a shot to get into field goal range. A score there and getting the ball at halftime at least was Pitt’s most reasonable chance to compete and get back into the game. Pat Narduzzi and Mark Whipple opted to keep it conservative with the play calling. Pitt called three runs and a short pass during the four play possession. Notre Dame, on the hand, was looking to capitalize. Brian Kelly called a timeout with :20 seconds in the half and his team came out and blocked the punt and subsequently scored on the play. Pitt played it conservative, while Notre Dame was looking to pile on and add to its lead, and the aggressive team benefitted. The game was probably getting close to being out of reach already, but a 25-point halftime deficit certainly cemented the outcome as well. Pitt handled that sequence poorly, and even trying to go down field a little bit could have kept it at 21-3 at the break.

Bye week on the horizon

Where does this Pitt football team go from here? Pitt has now lost four straight games following today 45-3 embarrassing loss to No. 3 Notre Dame. The team currently sits with a 3-4 record heading into the bye week. This team is dealing with a number of injuries and Pitt is the only team to start the season with seven consecutive games. A week off is very much needed from a physical standpoint.

As for the mental aspect, where will the team be coming out of the bye? The Panthers have remained upbeat following the prior three losses, but losing the way it did today on national TV is going to be tough to overcome. The loss is one thing, but the expectations this team had for itself are another. Pitt did not have high expectations nationally, but internally this team expected to be very good this season. The Panthers do have multiple players that will hear their names called in April’s NFL Draft. There was experience up and down the roster, but the season is pretty much off the rails at this point. How do they regroup during the bye week? There is no way of knowing right now, but the prospects of rebounding after this kind of loss are not ideal.