Pitt entered Saturday’s game as a double-digit underdog to No. 20 Clemson. The Panthers managed to take the lead in the final minutes, only to see Clemson drive the length of the field moments later to steal a 24-20 win at Acrisure Stadium. What stood out from this game? Here are my five biggest takeaways.
Total heartbreak
It is hard to measure one single outcome with so many others through the years, but in terms of heartbreaking losses, Saturday’s defeat to Clemson would rank up there with the best of them. There have been games with higher stakes that Pitt has faltered in through the years, but in the manner of which Saturday’s loss transpired is a pure kick in the stomach, and that will make this game not soon forgotten, for all the wrong reasons.
The Panthers played an inspired second half, overcame a two-score deficit, and dominated Clemson for about 28 minutes after halftime, but one single breakdown on defense unraveled all the work the team had accomplished prior to that.
It’s hard to cast blame on the defense as a whole, because their efforts sparked the comeback in the first place, but to give up a 50-yard run with the game on the line was deflating. The energy in Acrisure Stadium was palpable once Pitt grabbed its first lead with 1:36 remaining, but it evaporated before anyone had time to really process what had happened.
There were plenty of opportunities throughout the game to avoid the situation Pitt found itself in, but you have to roll with the punches. The Panthers did, and almost did enough to overcome all of it, and it simply was not enough.
Pitt played a gutty game, overcame a lot of injuries, ball calls, questionable decisions, and litany of their own mistakes to be in a position to win. These are the type of situations in a 12-game season that can swing your win total in the right direction with a victory, and there wrong way with a loss.
Yarnell battled
Nate Yarnell did not play the best game on Saturday, but it was far from the worst either. The Panthers’ junior backup quarterback did just about everything he could to lead his team to an upset win over a ranked opponent under difficult circumstances.
Yarnell, who was making the fourth start of his career, finished 34-of-54 with a career-high 350 yards with one touchdown, and one interception. While there critiques to make about his performance, and mistakes that could have been avoided on his end, the sheer resolve to stick in there for four quarters after taking some of the hits he took was commendable, if nothing else.
There is no question Pitt’s offense has been struggling for weeks. Some of the same issues that have been plaguing the team for bubbled up quite often on Saturday against Clemson, too. But when there were certain plays to be made, especially in the second half, Yarnell did the best he could to make them and give his team a chance to win. I mean, that is all you ever really want from a backup quarterback, especially playing against a ranked opponent.
Yarnell missed easy throws, took too long to make some decisions, but in the end he threw for 350 yards facing constant pressure while playing behind a makeshift offensive line with injuries mounting all around him throughout the game.
Following the game, Pat Narduzzi said he would imagine starter Eli Holstein will be available for next week’s game. He also said “it's way too early” to decide who will be the starter next week. Does Pitt win with Holstein? Does he throw for 350 yards considering his recent struggles? Those are simply answers we will never get.
A mostly perfect defensive performance
Saturday’s game will always be remembered for Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik breaking off a 50-yard run in the closing minutes to give the Tigers a late lead to stun the Acrisure Stadium crowd.
It was an inexcusable play to allow given the circumstances. Pitt simply did not account for the quarterback’s legs in a critical point of the game, and when he did take off, most of the defenders took bad angles to try to bring him down, and it resulted in the defining play of the game.
It’s unfortunate for Pitt to allow only 58 rushing yards to a team like Clemson, and 50 of them came on one play in the deciding sequence. Prior to that, it was a dominant and gutty effort by this Panthers' defense.
Before the game-winning drive, Clemson had 27 yards of offense total in the second half. The Panthers forced three 3-and-outs, came up with a huge stop on a fourth down, and simply had Clemson stuck behind the sticks for nearly the entire second half.
For this defense to produce that kind of overall performance and still lose has to be gutting. The Panthers' defense has shut the door several times this season in close games, which has to make it all the more frustrating they couldn't get it done on Saturday.
The Clemson game also revisits an all-too-common theme over the past two seasons, where the defense likely played well enough to win, but the support from the offensive side of the ball left them hanging for too long.
Pitt produced five sacks as a team, 13 TFLs, and caused one turnover. The Tigers came up empty on their first five second half possessions. Once again, sophomore linebacker Kyle Louis looked like the best player on the field, with seven tackles, 3.5 TFLs, and two sacks. Pitt leaned on this side of the ball and the defense ultimately gave them a chance, but will still walk out of this game with an empty feeling because of how it ended.
Stuck in their own way
If there was one element that kept Clemson off the hook more often than not on Saturday, it was Pitt’s own mistakes. Clemson is a good enough football team to win any game without any help from the opposition, but on Saturday, the Panthers were plenty charitable to the Tigers’ cause.
Pitt was flagged 13 times for 100 yards. The Panthers failed to score on a first and goal from the two-yard line, mainly because of a lack of execution. During that stretch, Pitt was called for an illegal formation, a delay of game, and a fast start on consecutive plays. Rather than making it 17-14, Pitt wasted a chance when it was knocking on the door, and had to settle for three points.
There was another sequence where Pitt jumped offsides three straight times on defense. While the Panthers ultimately got the stop and forced the punt after that, it was concerning to see a team in Game 10 making mental errors the way Pitt did.
If Pitt plays clean penalty wise, the outcome may have been the same, but giving a team like Clemson any free help in a game like this is only asking for trouble.
Another opportunity ahead
Pitt won’t have a chance to beat a ranked team next week, as Louisville dropped to 6-4 on Saturday with a 38-35 loss to a bad Stanford team on the road. That outcome doesn’t speak highly of Louisville, but the Cardinals also recently defeated the same Clemson team that Pitt lost to on Saturday, so that’s something to consider.
The game itself lost its luster, and now you have two teams battling for respectability more than anything next week when the Panthers travel to Louisville. Both Pitt and Louisville are now out of the ACC title race, and now will be looking to stack as many wins as they can over the final two weeks of the season to try to save face.
Pitt, of course, pulled an upset over Louisville in 2023. The Panthers stunned No. 14 Louisville 38-21 at Acrsiure Stadium, representing one of the three wins Pitt achieved last year. I’m not sure if that means much now, because both teams are very different than they were a year ago at this time.
For Pitt’s part, this team needs to find a way to stop the bleeding. They almost did it the hard way with a near upset of Clemson on Saturday, but now in the midst of a three-game losing skid, you have to wonder about the team’s mindset for the rest of the season, especially after a gutting loss.
On the surface, it’s a 7-3 team battling a 6-4 team, and there’s not much more to say beyond that. A few weeks ago, this looked like it could be a game filled with huge implications for each side, but now it’s just another regular season conference contest between teams middling teams. It’s been a slow but steady turn with how this season unfolded for Pitt, and it’s hard to say what these final two games truly mean for a program that squandered its best start since the 1980s.
