Five Takeaways: Pitt beats North Carolina in OT

Pitt defeated North Carolina 30-23 in overtime in front of 41,687 fans at Heinz Field on Thursday night. It was a roller coaster of a game, but in the end the Panthers came up with winning plays in overtime. The win propels Pitt to an 8-2 record overall, and a 5-1 mark in ACC. Pitt retains sole possession of first place in the ACC Coastal with two games remaining in the regular season.

Here are five things that stood out about the win.

Found a way to win an ugly game

Six of Pitt’s first seven wins of the season came by double digit margins. The way this offense has played this season, it's been only natural for them to build big leads and sit on it from there and cruise to wins. The two losses for this team, however, have been close games. Both defeats came down to poor execution by Pitt late in the game resulting in losses to Western Michigan and Miami, by three and four points respectively.

On Thursday night Pitt found itself in another tight contest, mostly by its own doing from mistakes and poor execution, but in the end Pitt gutted out a win at home in a close game. A win is a win, but finding a way to eek out a close game was important on Thursday and could be a scenario that comes up again next weekend with Virginia coming to town in another game that is expected to be tightly contested.

Questionable coaching

Pitt probably should have blown North Carolina off the field on Thursday night to be perfectly honest. The Panthers had a 17-0 lead after one quarter and were not able to capitalize on poor start from the North Carolina offense from there. Sam Howell eventually made a big play and got the Tar Heels back in the game. Pitt responded with a Kenny Pickett to Jared Wayne touchdown to go up 23-7 with just under five minutes to go before halftime. The Panthers could have extended that lead even further, but rather than going for it on 4th and 2 at North Carolina's 13-yard line Pitt opted to attempt a field goal. Pitt kicker Sam Scarton, who had missed an extra point already, had his kick blocked and Pitt settled for only a 23-7 lead at halftime.

While the blowout win may have been off the table, Pitt still had plenty of opportunities from keeping this one from going to overtime. The Pitt offense opted to keep throwing the ball rather than looking to run it more with a two-score lead in the second half thus giving North Carolina more time to engineer a comeback. Even late in the game when North Carolina cut it to 23-20, Pitt's first play on the ensuing possession was a screen pass and not a run with 5:34 left in the game. The pass was intercepted and put the pressure back on the Pitt defense with virtually no time coming off the clock.

Pitt had been dominant in possessing the ball late in games throughout the season, but chose not to on Thursday and it nearly coset the team the game. Pitt had opportunities to blow the game open, or at the very least win comfortably, but with poor decision making it left the game up to chance.

An off night for the offense

Pitt was held to 23 points in regulation, a season-low for this team. Of all defenses to slow down the Panthers, many would not have predicted North Carolina to be the team to make it happen. The Tar Heels entered this game as one of the worst defensive units in the ACC, allowing over 33 points per game. On Thursday, the Tar Heels gave Pitt's offense all it wanted on defense and then some. Pitt was held to just 79 yards in the second half, including -4 yards on the ground. Kenny Pickett was also sacked four times and intercepted once against the Tar Heels defense

The Panthers looked sharp in the first quarter and Pickett made some big-time throws to build a three score lead, but as the game progressed a usually poor North Carolina defense showed more resolve against the high-powered Panthers attack than most teams have had this season. In the end, Pitt came up with a quick strike in overtime and made the necessary plays to win the game, though it was not always easy. In the second half the play calling was suspect, the offensive line play left a lot to be desired, and the decision making from Pickett and company looked more on par with previous seasons, not the 2021 version of themselves. It did not cost them the game, but made it closer than it should have been.

The defense shines bright

The Pitt defense got to pin their ears back and go at Sam Howell in overtime for a chance to win the game for this team. The Panthers were protecting a one score lead after Lucas Krull's touchdown in overtime and all they needed was one stop, and that ultimately came with a fourth down interception from reserve cornerback MJ Devonshire. The Pitt defense made the game-clinching play to move the team to 8-2 on the year, but it was so much more than that for this unit.

Pitt's defense set the tone in the first quarter with a third down sack on North Carolina's first three offensive possessions of the game. Pitt finished with five sacks on the night overall. Linebacker Sir'Vocea Dennis finished with nine tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack in perhaps his best game of the season.

It was expected to be a high-scoring game with Pickett and Howell trading shots all night, but it became a little more defensive oriented and the Pitt defense came up with multiple big plays to help win the game. The Tar Heels were 6-of-16 on third down attempts, and 0-of-4 on fourth downs. In a game that was decided by a touchdown in overtime with the rain falling on the Heinz Field turf, it was oddly fitting the Pitt defense got to have its big moment after some shaky games earlier this season and the offense carrying the weight most of the year.

The goals are still in front of them

After the win on Thursday, Pitt moved to 8-2 this season. The team is ranked and they are leading the ACC Coastal. All in all, it's a pretty ideal spot for Pat Narduzzi's team. The Panthers have two games to play in the regular season and control their own destiny moving forward in the ACC Coastal race.

Pitt has a big game with Virginia set for next week at Heinz Field. The game will effectively decide Pitt's fate in winning the division. As Narduzzi and his players have often said all season, 'all of our goals are all still in front of us' and it rains true this evening. Pitt's win over North Carolina was by no means conventional, but it was still a win and that's what is important at this stage of the season. The Panthers needed to win this one against North Carolina to make next week's game with Virginia equally important, and they got it done in primetime on national TV and sometimes style points don't always matter.