Five Takeaways: Pitt beats Virginia 48-38 to clinch the Coastal

Pitt clinched the ACC Coastal title on Saturday from Heinz Field with a 48-38 victory over Virginia. The Panthers needed some fourth quarter heroics and big plays down the stretch to claim its first division title since 2018. Here are five things that stood out from Saturday’s game.

The Play

Pitt had the ball third-and-five and the ball on their own 38-yard line with 2:23 remaining in the game. Virginia had just called its final timeout, as Pitt clung to a 41-38 lead with a nervous Pitt contingent sitting in the Heinz Field bleachers on a cold November night.

The Pitt running game had been effective on Saturday and that was an option for the down and distance Pitt faced, but one thing worked a little bit better against Virginia on Saturday: letting Kenny Pickett throw the ball to Jordan Addison.

The Pitt senior quarterback’s final touchdown throw at Heinz Field was nearly intercepted, but Addison made a play like he had all throughout the game on Saturday. The sophomore wide receiver snatched the ball out of the air and darted down the sideline for his fourth touchdown of the game on 62-yard catch and run. Pitt went up two scores and held on to beat Virginia 48-38 and clinched the ACC Coastal in the process.

There were a number of different approaches Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple and head coach Pat Narduzzi could have dialed up in that situation.

- Run the ball, and pick up the first down, and win the game.

- Look for a tight end or a short route in the middle of the field and convert the first down.

- Run the ball, don’t pick up the first down, but drain some clock, punt and play defense.

Nope. None of the above.

Pitt has the best quarterback to wide receiver combination in the country and the coaches let them make a play when it mattered most. There was nothing conservative about it. Pickett’s throw wasn’t perfect, but Addison made the play, and the Panthers are the ACC Coastal champions because of it.

A date in Charlotte

Pitt has now won two out of the last three ACC Coastal Division championships (no divisions last year). The one in 2018 was clinched on the road with a team that already had four losses on its resume. Saturday’s win over Virginia felt different for this Pitt football program. The 18th ranked Panthers improved to 9-2 on the year following Saturday’s victory and have a 6-1 mark in league play. The 2018 title run was impressive, but with a national ranking and a Heisman Trophy candidate around, the 2021 Coastal championship has certainly created more buzz around the program. For now, Pitt awaits its opponent in Charlotte, but three options remain:

- If Wake Forest beats Boston College, then it’s Wake Forest.

- If Wake Forest loses and NC State beats North Carolina, then it will be NC State.

- If Wake Forest and NC State both lose, then it will be Clemson.

The scenarios are pretty straightforward, and in all likelihood the Panthers will be seeing Wake Forest in two weeks, though they will know for certain next week.

While Pitt waits for its opponent in Charlotte, the ACC Atlantic Division knows what awaits them: Pitt is the top team in the ACC right now. The Panthers will be favored against any of those three Atlantic Division teams and will very likely go into Charlotte as the highest-ranked team in the conference.

It’s a pretty stark contrast then Pitt’s last ACC title appearance. Narduzzi noted in his post game press conference there was maybe a sense of ‘happy to be there’ as his 2018 team was walloped by Clemson 42-10. That won’t be the case for the 2021 team.

Running game shows up

Pitt’s running game had a productive showing in the team’s 48-38 win over Virginia. The Panthers were paced by Vincent Davis, who finished with 100 yards exactly on 12 carries. Freshman Rodney Hammond contributed 66 yards and a touchdown, while Izzy Abanikanda rushed for 19 yards on three carries. Narduzzi noted Abanikanda was a little banged up, but the sophomore did return a kickoff for a touchdown on a dazzling 98-yard run prior to getting hurt.

It’s been a three-headed attack back there all season, and the trio combined for 185 yards on 30 carries in a very solid day behind an offensive line missing two starters. It was not the sharpest day for Pickett, but the run game delivered. Pitt’s rushing attack was unable to really get going against North Carolina last week, and at times struggled on Saturday, but the Panthers found room at different points of the game and Davis made big runs, while Hammond once again helped close out the game in the fourth quarter.

Pitt held the ball over 10 minutes on Saturday, it was the fourth ACC win this season where the Panthers have held the ball and kept it away from the opponent. Of course, Virginia had a quick score in there that may have skewed the numbers a bit, but still...Pitt had the ball more than Virginia in the fourth quarter, and that’s a good thing given the way the Cavs were moving the ball on offense.

Wasn’t too pretty for the defense

Brennan Armstrong’s status all week long was a mystery. Well, he played, and he was also quite good might I add. The Virginia quarterback torched Pitt from the very beginning as he finished with 487 passing yards and three touchdowns. Armstrong continually had wide-open wide receivers and tight ends streaking across the middle of the field all game long.

Pitt’s defense did not have its best day, but Armstrong is the ACC’s leading passer so obviously they had a challenge in front of them. The Panthers just didn’t handle it well most of the game. They let Keytaon Thompson, Virginia’s versatile ‘football player’ catch 11 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a score as well. Dontayvion Wicks had a career-high 10 receptions as well.

Virginia scored in two plays in a fourth quarter drive. Pretty much, the Cavaliers did what they wanted to do throughout the game when they had the ball. The Panthers lost starting middle linebacker Sir’Vocea Dennis on the third play of the game due to a targeting penalty and Pitt missed his presence throughout the game.

Pitt did some things right on defense, however. They've had a bend, but don't break mentality all year. The Panthers recorded five sacks and limited Virginia to 5-of-13 on third down attempts. Pitt came up with a fourth down stop to end the game as well.

Overall it was not a good day for the Pitt defense, but the nature of the game was not unexpected. The top two leading passers in the ACC were bound to trade punches and that’s what happened at Heinz Field on Saturday. Pitt got the final stop, and that one mattered the most. Pitt won't see this kind of a passing attack next week in Syracuse in the regular season finale, and that’s should be a relief to defensive coordinator Randy Bates and company.

A moment for Narduzzi

I wouldn’t grade Saturday’s win over Virginia as the best coaching performance of Pat Narduzzi’s career. The game plan and execution left a lot to be desired at times, but his team won the game and made plays when it matted.

I think that has to count for something, right?

Pitt was picked to finish 4th in the ACC Coastal at Media Days back in July. Four months later, the Panthers are the top team in the ACC Coastal and will represent the division in Charlotte in two weeks. It will mark the second time Pitt will be the Coastal’s representative in the title game in the past four years, but this one will feature Pitt as the team expected to win, which is a big turnaround if you really look at it.

Sure, I get it, Clemson being down has a lot to do with everything in the landscape of the 2021 ACC season, but come tomorrow when the rankings are released: Pitt will be the highest ranked team in the ACC. Now think about that. When was the last time you could see Pitt was the best team in its conference at any point in the season?

It’s been a while, right?

Narduzzi has had a long, up and down road during his seven years guiding the Pitt program. He has experience some big highs, like beating Clemson and Penn State in 2016, upsetting Miami in 2017, and a Coastal title in 2018. There’s also been some lowest of the lows: 51-6 to Penn State, 28-0 Virginia Tech, pretty much all of 2020, and of course Western Michigan this year.

Allowing 500 yards and 38 points was not a conventional method of winning on Saturday. Losing to Western Michigan and Miami was not the expected route to this point in the season, either.

It’s always a little adventurous with this program, but Narduzzi’s group is 9-2, ranked as a top 20 team, with a division title already in tow.

I think he can have a cold one tonight.