The Pitt Panthers opened the 2024 campaign with a 55-24 victory over Kent State at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday. Pitt, using a brand new offense under first-year offensive coordinator Kade Bell, showed a level of explosiveness that simply was not there over the past two seasons and it displayed plenty of potential.
The defenses had some lapses, but also some big moments as well, to secure a comfortable win to start the year 1-0.
What stood out from this game? Here are my five takeaways.
Eli Holstein looked the part
On Thursday, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi revealed that Eli Holstein would open the season as the team’s starting quarterback, but stated that Nate Yarnell would see action as well, after a competition that took place throughout training camp. That much held true, with both quarterbacks playing on Saturday against Kent State. However, it was clear the way things were handled on Saturday that Holstein is going to be the guy this season, for as long as he deserves to hold onto the job.
If his performance against Kent State was any indication, Pitt looks like it has a viable option to operate this up-tempo offense for this season, and also a player with upside as well. Holstein became the first freshman to start Pitt’s opening game since Luke Getsy did it back in 2003, coincidentally enough, also against Kent State.
In his debut Saturday, the redshirt freshman from Louisiana certainly impressed. Holstein helped lead Pitt to 560 yards of total offense. The Panthers had scoring drives in six of the nine possessions he was on the field. Holstein finished 30-of-40 for 336 yards three touchdowns to just one interception. He managed to operate Pitt’s up-tempo attack, while incorporating nearly all of Pitt’s playmakers into the scheme with seven players catching passes off of his hand.
He did throw one costly red zone interception, and nearly threw another pick, but given that it was his first start, he still passed the eye test. There will be more to be learned about Holstein this season, especially with his first road game next week, but for a debut, Saturday was more than enough to show he can play.
Desmond Reid shows out
Desmond Reid was simply electric in his Pitt debut. The generously listed 5-foot-8 and 175-pound back from Miami dazzled in his first game with the Panthers as he totaled 234 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, showing off his playmaking ability in all phases of the game. Reid broke loose on a 78-yard punt return for a score. He also rushed for 145 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown, and even caught three passes as well.
Reid was talked about all offseason as a serious playmaker, but there were some doubts the former Western Carolina star would be able to make those plays at this level. While the level of opponent today may not have dispelled those notions entirely, it’s pretty clear Reid has a different gear that can take a one-yard gain into a 50-yard touchdown.
Pitt’s offense was so stagnant last year, because there was never a serious home run threat. Well, I do think Reid can bring that element this year, as long as he stays healthy. The size questions will continue, especially as the level of competition increases. The game against Cincinnati will be a big benchmark for him, just to see if this explosiveness is for real.
Returning playmakers got opportunities
The transfers on offense drew a lot of attention this offseason. Reid, of course, made his presence felt. CJ Lee and Poppi Williams also made some plays on Saturday. It was a positive for Pitt that those guys came in and did what they were supposed to do.
While those guys can bring a jolt to the offense, the returning playmakers also need to be major contributors for this team to be successful. There were two guys in particular who seemingly have taken to the new offensive system right away, and that should bode well for this team in the future.
Gavin Bartholomew has long been a player who felt like an underutilized weapon for this offense. On Saturday, Bartholomew had five catches for 66 yards. It was a modest stat line, but it was also the first time Bartholomew had five catches in a game since the second game of the 2022 season. Kade Bell did not draw up a ton of elaborate concepts to get him the ball, but simply used the talented 6-foot-5 senior as a normal part of the offense. The past two seasons, Pitt struggled to simply do just that, but having a big bodied tight end who can run should only make this offense tougher to defend as the season progresses.
Another returning player to show out in the new offense was Kenny Johnson. The sophomore posted a cased day on Saturday against the Golden Flashes going to seven catches, 105 receiving yards, and one touchdown. Johnson showed off some ability as a true freshman, but Pitt struggled to incorporate him in 2023. It was clear from the start that Holstein had a lot of belief in Johnson, and that he has a chance to be his favorite target this year.
Yes, the new guys are catching most of the headlines, but seeing guys like Bartholomew and Johnson having a chance to succeed, sort of reaffirms how poor the offensive execution was last season.
Defense has some things to work on...
There were times Pitt’s defense was downright nasty, but in the third quarter, there were definitely some concerns from that side of the ball. The Panthers basically sat on the Golden Flashes in the first half. In Kent State’s seven first half possessions, six of them went for five yards or less. Kent State had three first downs and 48 yards of total offense in the first half.
It was pure dominance, but then the tides turned a little.
While it would be unfair to say Kent State figured a ton of things out against Pitt, the Golden Flashes definitely started to move the ball in the third quarter. Kent State cut into Pitt’s lead at 28-21 early in the third on a 75-yard drive, capped off by a pretty touchdown catch from Chrishon McCray.
Pitt’s offense kept the pressure on, and Kent State’s comeback big was never all that serious, but there were some missed tackles, a few blown coverages, and not the outright domination that the Panthers displayed in the first half. There have been some concerns with the Pitt defensive line and pass rush entering the season, and admittedly it was off and on against Kent State.
Pitt finished with five sacks and 12 tackles for loss. The defense was playing aggressive and making plays behind the line of scrimmage like normal, but did bleed out a few time consuming drives by the Golden Flashes.
I have always expected this unit to start slow and gain confidence. We’ll see if that’s the case going forward, or if there are some true elements of concern with this side of the ball.
It was just Kent State…
Everything in Pitt’s win today can probably be taken with a grain of salt. But that’s part of the deal when you open a season against a team from the MAC. Yes, everyone looks great and the offense and defense all clicked, but that is kind of what is supposed to happen in a game like this, right?
College is the only level of football where there is no live dress rehearsal against an opponent. There is no scrimmage or preseason game to iron out the details, so as long as you don’t schedule a tough opening weekend opponent, then games like Pitt’s 55-24 win over Kent State are sort of supposed to serve as a preseason game.
Not everything was perfect, but not everything was a disaster either. Pitt got to toy around with its new offense against someone who has never played it before, and frankly it looked good. The defense got a lot of new guys worked into the rotation, and some played well and others did not.
But again, that’s fine for a game like this.
The season opener went as planned with a comfortable 31-point victory. I know most Pitt supporters wanted to see a 77-0 victory, but that was never going to happen. There were still penalties to work through, some special teams miscues, and new guys debuting in new roles. It was a little sloppy, but hardly anything that happened on Saturday caught my eye that was a downright, gaping hole of a concern, at least for now.
