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Quick thoughts on Pitt's loss to Clemson

Pitt got more than it could handle at No. 3 Clemson on Saturday. Here are four quick reactions to the game.

As difficult as expected
No matter what, Saturday’s game at No. 3 Clemson was always going to be a tough one. The Tigers are very talented on both sides of the ball, and for a team like Pitt to upset a team like that, it has to have everything go right.

Instead, the Panthers had virtually everything go wrong. It started with three turnovers on the first five possessions and only got worse from there, save for a brief stretch in the second and third quarters where Pitt had a bit of momentum - a stretch that was rather easily ended by Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

For the second time this season against top-ranked competition, the Panthers were simply never in the game. They were out-played, out-coached and out-classed.

Fleeting momentum
This game was all Clemson, but there was a point where Pitt had a chance to make it interesting. The Panthers were the better team in the second quarter, outscoring Clemson 10-7 and outgaining the Tigers 142-85, and they got a hot start to the second half when Rashad Weaver sacked Trevor Lawrence and forced a fumble that was promptly turned into a touchdown by the offense.

But the momentum couldn’t hold. Clemson missed a field goal on the next drive, but Pitt responded with a punt, and after another Clemson punt, the Panthers’ offense drove across the 50 but a key holding penalty killed the drive - and the momentum.

Pitt never threatened again after that.

The odds were against the Panthers, especially after the early turnovers, but they couldn’t capitalize on the chances they did give themselves.

Quarterback comparisons
Kenny Pickett’s final stat line wasn’t anything to write home about: 22-of-39 (56.1%), 209 yards, 2 touchdowns, 4 interceptions. But it was actually a solid finish to a game that probably couldn’t have started worse for the senior quarterback.

In the first quarter, Pickett completed 3-of-11 passes for 15 yards and 3 interceptions. In that context, his 19-of-28 (67.9%) for 194 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 pick in the final three quarters looks like a pretty good box score.

But not when compared to Pickett’s opponent, Clemson junior Trevor Lawrence. His first quarter was exceptional - 12-of-16, 208 yards, 2 touchdowns - and it directly led to his sparkling final line: 26-of-37, 403 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Both quarterbacks threw two touchdown passes in the game, but the comparisons stop there, because Lawrence played like a future No. 1 NFL Draft pick and Pickett played at a level below.

Team comparisons
It was well-known that the matchups in Pitt’s game at Clemson would favor the home team, but it’s not hard to pull back the view a bit and look at Saturday’s game, as well as this season’s loss to Notre Dame, as measuring sticks for where the Panthers are in relation to the top teams in their conference.

Putting it as bluntly as possible, Pitt is not very close. 97-20 was the combined score of the Panthers’ losses to Clemson and Notre Dame, and the games almost didn’t even feel that close. Pitt was never in it against Notre Dame and had only a few brief, fleeting flirtations with momentum at Clemson.

It’s a stark and rather sober eye-opener on where the Panthers stand - and how far they have to go to get to the top.

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