Warren setting sights high for Saturday
Each week during Pat Narduzzi’s weekly press conference, he is asked about the performance of the offensive line. More specifically, he is asked how that group graded out from the prior game.
Narduzzi never gets too specific about answering that particular question, but he did mention this week that junior left tackle Carter Warren graded out with a “winning performance.”
After speaking with Warren on Tuesday, he noted that Pitt uses a five-point grading scale: ACC, winning, high-average, average, and low-average.
“I think Carter Warren graded out at winning, everybody else was high average,” Narduzzi said on Monday. “They all graded out at just about winning against Austin Peay.”
If you forget about the actual scale, the Pitt head coach was pleased with his offensive line’s showing against a tough Syracuse front. Pitt rushed for 127 yards and controlled the time of possession battle in a 21-10 win over the Orange.
“As a whole, I thought our offensive line played much better,” Narduzzi said about his team’s play against Syracuse. “Even though they got winning grades a week ago, I thought they played better Saturday than they did the week before. I thought there was more physical play, guys stayed on their blocks, they sustained. I was much happier this week with our O-line than I was the week before.”
For Warren’s part, he isn’t satisfied with how he played last week. The New Jersey native has now been Pitt’s starting left tackle for 15 straight contests and he’s holding himself, and his teammates to a higher standard.
“I feel like we all could do better,” Warren said during Tuesday’s media session. “We all could do better. I had a winning performance, but I feel like I could do even better. Everyday we just come in and try to get better.”
Pitt only scored three touchdowns on Saturday, and came up empty in the red zone multiple times. Warren believes that can be fixed, and it starts with an emphasis on running the football.
“I feel like we just need to run the ball more,” he said. “Just go ahead and attack their defense and come out swinging full-force. I feel like we can go a long way and finish in the end zone. I feel like that will be a big factor this week.”
Pitt’s rushing attack is averaging 137 yards per game, and 3.5 yards per carry. The Panthers are shuffling at running back, as they continue to look for the right combination to ignite the rushing attack even further.
Pitt hosts No. 24 Louisville on Saturday at Heinz Field. The Cardinals are coming off of a 47-34 loss to Miami, and their defense struggled and allowed multiple big plays on the ground. Despite the defense showing some vulnerability, Warren won’t be taking Louisville lightly.
“Overall I felt like what stood out to me was their linebackers,” he said. “I saw them flying around play-by-play making plays and I’m ready to get it going.”