The Pitt Panthers scored an easy 73-17 win over Youngstown State on Saturday to improve to 4-0 on the season. Pitt is off to its best start since the year 2000, and finished non-conference play undefeated for the first time. The team is now entering into bye week mode, before starting ACC play at North Carolina on October 5th.
Here is a notebook breaking down some relevant stats surrounding the team in the aftermath of the Youngstown State game.
Finishing drives
Pitt has has 18 red zone attempts this year and scored touchdowns 15 times (83%). Last year, Pitt scored 16 touchdowns in 25 red zone opportunities (64%). The team is obviously getting near the goal line a heck of a lot more, and they are having more success when it happens.
It helps knowing Pitt has a rock solid kicker as well. Ben Sauls is 7-for-7 on field goal attempts this season, so even if the Panthers do not cross into the 20-yard line, the team has a really good chance for points if a drive sputters around the 30-yard lline as well.
A Torrid pace
Pitt’s offense now ranks 8th nationally in scoring at 48.5 points per game, a stark change from last season where the Panthers finished 116th with 20.2 points per contest. Pitt has 22 offensive touchdowns in four games, as opposed to the 27 the team finished with last year over a 12-game season.
It’s probably fair to stop comparing things to last year, and start looking at where the 2024 offense stands up with Pat Narduzzi’s two best offensive seasons: 2016 and 2021. In those two seasons, Pitt finished top ten nationally in scoring. The 2021 version, led by Kenny Pickett, was the third-highest scoring team in the country at 41.4 points per game.
Obviously, the current season numbers are a little inflated as it stands in September, not just for Pitt, but across the country. The overall scoring numbers should go down some, but this 2024 Pitt team has itself positioned to be a 40-plus point team.
Four-game heat check
Kenny Pickett’s 2021 season was about as good as it gets. He set Pitt records, ACC marks, and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, while claiming ACC Player of the Year. His numbers were out of this world.
But, through four games this season, redshirt freshman Eli Holstein is not far off from matching that kind of production. Holstein is up to 1,183 yards 12 touchdowns to just two interceptions. He is completing 67% of his passes and has also added 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Back in 2021, Pickett had Pitt to a 3-1 start, and also led Pitt to an easy FCS win in the fourth game of the season. Through four games that year, Pickett was hitting on 74% of his passes, with 1,342 passing yards, 15 touchdowns to just one pick. He also had 121 yards on the ground and two scores.
It’s close, but Pickett was off to a slightly better start, but he was also a fifth-year senior. Holstein is only a redshirt freshman, so to have that kind of start to a season is certainly saying something.
Running free
Eli Holstein showed off the legs on Saturday with 93 rushing yards. He was very close to becoming the first Pitt quarterback to topple 100 yards rushing in a game since Chad Voytik went for 118 against Virginia Tech back in 2014.
Holstein jokingly said after the West Virginia game he wished sack yardage did not count against his running total, so it’s a number he certainly keeps in mind. He was aware he was sitting on 93, and was getting ready to petition his coaches for another drive before Nate Yarnell handled the fourth quarter.
“I was about to ask him if I could go in there and just do a little QB draw, so I can get that 100 yards rushing, Holstein said after the game. “But he said no. I'm sure he wouldn't have let me do that.”
No Reid, no problem
Pitt did not use the speedy Desmond Reid against Youngstown State, and did not really need to either. The Penguins did not pose much of a threat, and Reid did not finish out the West Virginia game. It felt like a good opportunity to rest him.
“He could have probably played if we wanted him to and if we needed him,” Narduzzi said after the game.
It probably made more sense to have him get the extra rest and gear up for eight ACC games. Despite not playing, he’s still fourth in the ACC in rushing with 319 yards and leads the league in all-purpose yardage at 188 per game.
Carter carries load
With Reid out, Pitt started Derrick Davis at running back on Saturday. But really, it was Daniel Carter who benefitted most with Reid taking a break. The sixth year senior, who was playing in his 54th career game, broke off his first career 100-yard rushing game. Carter totaled 109 yards on seven carries. He set his career-high long run on each of his rushing touchdowns, first with a 24-yard sprint, then later with a 43-yard scoring dash. The senior also added a 13-yard touchdown reception as well. Carter has 10 touchdowns in his career, and 30% of those happened on Saturday.
Che-ching
Che Nwabuko was money in his brief appearance in the second half. The Texas speedster finally got to show off his legs in a game setting, and broke off a 57-yard touchdown run in the second half. Nwabuko is regarded as one of, if not the, fastest guy on the team. He’s obviously behind the other running backs, but he only made that position switch from wide receiver a week or two before the season, so there is room for growth and opportunities to use that speed in the future.
Another 100-yarder
Censere Lee became the fourth Pitt player this season to have a 100-yard receiving game. He joined Konata Mumpfield, Kenny Johnson, and Demond Reid, who had already accomplished the feat.
Lee’s 82-yard touchdown reception was Pitt’s longest passing touchdown since 2019, when Pickett connected with Maurice Ffrench for a 96-yard score.
The Panthers now have six receivers with double-digit catches and 100 plus yards this season. Seven different players have caught a touchdown this year as well.
Clean pocket
Pitt entered Saturday’s game against Youngstown State near the top in sacks allowed. It’s not an ideal stat to be a leader in nationally. The Panthers allowed 11 sacks over their first three games, with Holstein weathering ten of them. On Saturday, the Pitt QB was only sacked once, and really, it was more on him for holding onto the ball too long.
It was only an FCS opponent, but it was a nice bounce back game for the offense. Saturday tied for Pitt’s fifth best offensive yardage game in program history with 644 total yards, and that does not happen without good offensive line play.
A nice win
Pat Narduzzi improved to 69-50 all-time as Pitt’s head coach. He is already second in school history in both wins and games coached, trailing only the legendary Jock Sutherland. In the win over Youngstown State, the Pitt coach paid homage to his father, the late Bill Narduzzi, by donning his signature look: a short sleeve button down shirt and a solid tie. The elder Narduzzi coached Youngstown State from 1975-1985, and his son improved to 3-0 all-time against the Penguins.
Shark tales
The Acrisure Stadium production team made a nice addition, as the speakers played the theme music from the movie ‘Jaws”as the defense walked to the field a few times. That is a nod to the linebackers’ self given nickname, ‘The Sharks’ which is starting to take on a life of its own.
The starting trio of Rasheem Biles, Brandon George, and especially Kyle Louis, is playing at a high level through four games. And this is coming off an offseason where two starters hit the transfer portal.
Louis is playing at an All-ACC level right now. He is second on the team, and seventh in the conference with 33 tackles this season. He has four TFLs, and has generated three turnovers in the past two games, including his second interception of the season on Saturday. Narduzzi has been talking up Louis as much as anyone and stood by that Saturday.
“He's a beast,” the Pitt coach said after the game. “That guy is a football player. We knew it in spring ball. I told a lot of the linebackers, like he was the dude.”
A 70-burger
It was hard to miss prior to Pitt’s game on Saturday, that the Panthers’ next opponent was in a world of trouble. North Carolina was getting stomped by James Madison pretty much all game and eventually ended up losing 70-50. The Tar Heels were 3-0 to that point, and the team does possess a dangerous offense, but allowing 70 to a Sun Belt team at home is a tough situation, especially a JMU team with a first-year coach and had a roster that was pillaged by the transfer portal.
North Carolina has a rivalry game with Duke next week, while Pitt will be resting up with a bye week. The Panthers have never won in Chapel Hill (0-7), but this could be a favorable matchup with Pitt’s offense, and North Carolina’s lack of a defense.
