Pitt enjoyed a rather comfortable 55-24 win over Kent State to open the 2024 season on Saturday at Acrsiure Stadium. The Panthers’ new-look offense lived up to the hype, producing 570 yards and lit up the scoreboard early and often.
The Pitt defense also had some big moments in the victory with five sacks, 12 TFLs, and two turnovers. But even after a win, there is a sense that this group left a lot on the field, and they want to clean some things up immediately.
“We got a lot to still work on,” said linebacker Kyle Louis. The redshirt sophomore from New Jersey paced Pitt with 10 tackles. He also recorded his first career sack as Pitt’s opening day starter at one of the outside linebacker spots.
“We're prioritizing on being the best in the nation,” Louis said of the defense’s performance. “We know what we messed up on. We had some MAs (missed assignments). We had some physical errors. We still definitely got a long way to go, but I'm definitely proud of my boys.”
The Pitt defense mostly smothered Kent State in the first half. The Golden Flashes only produced 48 yards of offense in the first two quarters with only three first downs. It was an impressive start, but it did not carry into the second half.
“I did not like the way our defense came out in the third quarter,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “We’ll address that. I didn't like that at all. I don't know what they were doing, what they were thinking. I can't wait to watch the videotape, but that was not how I wanted to come out in that third quarter.”
Kent State started the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive and then moved the ball for a field goal on its next possession. There were holes in the run defense during that stretch.
“The most important thing is just doing your job, maintaining your gap,” Louis said on defending the run. It was an area he felt the Pitt defense lost sight of in the third quarter.
Despite the leaks in the early parts of the second half, Kent State netted only 39 rushing yards for the game. It was a stark improvement from last season, where Pitt allowed 150 yards on the ground per contest.
Pitt senior middle linebacker, Brandon George, recognized some of those errors, but also credited the defense for retuning to its aggressive roots. The Panthers have historically been stout against the run under Narduzzi, and he felt Saturday’s performance was more reminiscent on some previous Pitt teams.
“I think we have some cleaning up to do, but I think we're flying around to the football,” George said after making his first career start. “I think we're back to kind of where we used to be as far as being violent, being aggressive, flying around, just being a bunch of rabid dogs out there on the football field.”
It is hard to deny that a more effective offense could potentially help the defense this season, simply from a pressure standpoint. Pitt generated very little on offense last year, thus creating little room for error for the defense. It did not go unnoticed to Louis that they have a chance to play a little more freely this season.
“We definitely feed off the offense,” said the sophomore from New Jersey. “I definitely believe they're going to be a great offense. But we’ve got to step up more on defense. We allowed too many yards at some points of the game. So we definitely going to improve that next week.”
George agreed with that assessment.
“Coach Bell brings insane energy to the sideline,” said George, a captain on the defense. “And then we were definitely feeding off that throughout the game.
There were some conclusions to draw about the Panthers’ defensive performance on Saturday. The group produced at a high level at times, but there were some gaps in the third quarter that stood out, and it’s something that is already driving Louis towards next week’s game
Pitt will return to action next Saturday against Cincinnati, the first road game of the season. Cincinnati beat Pitt a season ago, 27-21, and in that game, the Bearcats rushed for 216 yards. It’s not something Louis has forgotten, as he looks for both improvement from week one, and also revenge on the Bearcats from last season.
It’s something he wants his teammates to start thinking about as well.
“Do what you do tonight, but make sure you definitely put in some hours today, because Cinci is definitely on the clock,” Louis recalled his message to the defense. “Remember what happened last year, especially in terms of the run game.”
