MORE HEADLINES - Pitt loses Morrissey to ankle injury | A banner weekend for Pitt athletics | A pair of honors for Pickett | 10 thoughts on championships, comebacks and more | A fitting way to clinch the division | Pitt clinches 2018 Coastal championship with win over Wake Forest | Pickett picks a perfect day for a breakout game | Narduzzi on the win, battling back, Coastal champs and more | PODCAST: The drive home after Pitt beat Wake Forest
Optimism is always abundant in the offseason for any football team, and It was no different for the Pitt program heading into the 2018 campaign.
Despite coming off a 5-7 season in 2017, the Panthers did knock off second-ranked Miami to close out the season behind a stellar showing by true freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett.
With that win, the stage was set for this year - at least to members and followers of the Pitt football program. Pickett would be the franchise quarterback the program has so longed for and the Panthers would build off that Miami win and carry the momentum over into this season.
Outside the program, people did not see it that way. The Panthers were just one of two teams in the ACC Coastal to not receive a first place vote in the preseason polls. Despite the lack of faith for his peers, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi remained confident at the annual kickoff luncheon in August.
“Next time we’ll see you is in Charlotte for the ACC championship game because we’re going,” Narduzzi said at the time.
That prediction did not look so hot when the Panthers licked their wounds following a 51-6 drubbing to rival Penn State or when they lost to North Carolina - again. And certainly things continued to look bleak after an embarrassing 31-point loss to Central Florida.
Still, two of those losses happened outside of the ACC slate. Heading into an October 6th showdown with Syracuse, Pitt was 1-1 in the ACC and had the ability to control its own fate down the stretch. Once again, that seemed a bit laughable on the outside, especially with the Orange jumping out to a 14-0 lead in that game.
In any event, sophomore kicker Alex Kessman drilled some long field goals from over 50-yards away, the team withstood an hour rain delay, and rarely-used defensive back Therran Coleman had a game-winning interception to preserve a 44-37 win, and Pitt’s improbable run to the ACC Coastal title began.
Following a heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame, many figured the Pitt team would fold down the stretch starting with a home game against Duke. That was not the case, however. It may have taken 137 rushing yards from an unknown freshman defensive back named V’lique Carter, but Pitt survived a shootout with the Blue Devils 54-45.
The season then went to the dreaded national television Friday night game against division-leading Virginia. How many times in the past has Pitt let its fans down before in that scenario? Countless, or so it seems anecdotally.
But not this year. Star senior running back Qadree Ollison was injured and was limited to just seven carries, but fellow senior Darrin Hall saved the day with 229 rushing yards and three touchdowns and the Panthers claimed a 23-13 win and grabbed first place in the division outright.
Maybe the heartbreak was going to creep in at home against Virginia Tech. Once again, that was not the case because all Pitt did was put together 654 total yards of offense, a school record, and crushed the Hokies 52-22.
It all came to a head this past Saturday: beat Wake Forest and win the Coastal. Seemed simple, right? Pitt fans weren’t quite booking their trips to Charlotte just yet, despite the Panthers having mathematically having a 95% chance to win the division.
To play it up, of course Pitt came out flat in the game falling behind 10-6 at halftime. Would there be any other way? Penalties, misses tackles, wide open touchdowns for Wake Forest. It was setting in on Pitt fans once again - the heartbreak, the missed opportunity.
Not on Saturday. With Wake Forest shutting down the run, Pickett made it his day. He threw for a career-high 316 yards and three second half touchdowns with Pitt legend Dan Marino in the house watching and Pitt did it - it had won the coastal. Pickett played like that quarterback many expected him to be once the season started.
It may have taken some improbable performances along the way from a variety of players, but it happened for this football team. It did not always look conventional from those watching from the outside, but within the program - they always expected to find a way.
“We never lost faith,” Narduzzi said during Monday’s press conference. “There's going to be ups and downs. You can't beat everybody. You can't be perfect. But there's - I don't think anybody lost faith in this room, and we kept them together, and that's how you have success."
The story of the 2018 Pitt football team is not over yet. With three games remaining, the season can still take many turns in many different directions. Through it all one thing did happen: Pat Narduzzi said his team would play in Charlotte, and his team is going to play for its first ACC Championship on Charlotte on December 1st against Clemson. That promise did not always look likely, but he kept it.
