What happened in Pitt’s loss to Boston College on Saturday? Here’s a look at some of the big storylines.

Close games lead to losses
There are plenty of things to talk about in all three phases, but the ultimate storyline is this:

If you go out every week and play close games, you’re putting yourself in jeopardy of losing them. That was the case in the first two ACC games this season and Pitt got away with it. It was also the case in the last two ACC games, and the Panthers didn’t.

Twice, they have lost one-point decisions despite multiple opportunities to capitalize on an opponent’s weaknesses and put the game away. Twice this season, that is, because it’s not a new phenomenon. Far too often last season, Pitt played games close; some went the Panthers’ way and others didn’t, but the underlying theme was the same:

Get into close games week after week, and eventually it will balance out that you lose almost as many as you win. If this team continues to play in these close games - and there’s no reason to think they will break that trend anytime soon - they will continue to lose in these close games.

The blame for that trend goes to all three phases of the team, but ultimately, these games are the collective effort of the program - coaches and players alike, as a whole.

Offensive struggles continue
It was a new week, but it was the same story:

Ineffective running game, unreliable passing game and head-scratching calls. Just like the wins over Syracuse and Louisville and just like the loss to N.C. State.

Now Pitt’s offense can carry at least a significant portion of the blame for the Panthers’ defeat at Boston College on Saturday. The offense managed 371 yards and 30 points - its highest total of the season against an FBS opponent - but Pitt punted five times, settled for field goals three times and committed two turnovers (once on downs, one on an interception).

Time after time, Pitt’s offense failed to respond on Saturday. When Boston College struck for a big-play touchdown to open the second half, Pitt stumbled and had to settle for a field goal attempt. When the Panthers’ defense finally got its groove and forced a turnover, the offense gained 13 yards on five plays and punted.

When the offense got close to the red zone late in the fourth quarter with a chance to win the game, Kenny Pickett was dropped for a 15-yard sack.

Pitt’s offense doesn’t take all of the blame for Saturday’s loss, but it gets a whole lot of it.

Again.

Kessman
Talk about a shift of fortunes. Alex Kessman went from hero to goat (after a few goat turns earlier in the game) and he did it to the extremes.

A made 58-yard field goal to force the game into overtime. A missed extra point to end it.

There’s really not much to say about Kessman beyond that. He did miss two long field goals earlier in the game, but those were his first misses since the Syracuse game, as he successful kicked six field goals in a row against Louisville and N.C. State.

But while there were many key plays in the game on Saturday, none looms larger than the snap that lost it: a missed PAT that would have sent the game to a second overtime if it had been good.

Defensive problems and rebound
Pitt’s defense didn’t finish the N.C. State game on a high note, giving up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to lose last Saturday. And they didn’t get a hot start to the Boston College game either. The Eagles drove 86 yards for a field goal on their first drive and then scored touchdowns on marches of 67 and 75 yards in the second quarter.

They added a 77-yard touchdown pass to open the third quarter and then got the game-winner with a 25-yard strike on third down in overtime.

Now, in between those two touchdowns - the 77-yarder and 25-yarder - Pitt’s defense actually locked Boston College down pretty well. Boston College’s six possessions after the 77-yard touchdown pass totaled 19 net yards on 27 plays, which represented a strong rebound for the Panthers.

But overall, Pitt’s defense came into the season with high expectations, and in the last two games, they have been a vulnerability.

Officiating
On a day when Pitt did so much to hurt its own cause, it can feel like deflecting when looking at outside sources for the Panthers’ issues. But in addition to the offensive struggles and the defensive inconsistency and the special teams misses, Pitt also dealt with more than a couple questionable decisions by the officials on Saturday.

“We seem to be getting beat in the booth,” Pat Narduzzi said after the game, and while that’s a bit of an exaggeration, a few calls went against Pitt that seemed like they should have gone the other way.

For instance, Boston College had two fumble situations in the red zone in the first half. On the Eagles’ first drive, running back David Bailey appeared to fumble and SirVocea Dennis appeared to recover - as it was ruled on the field. The call was overturned on replay, although there didn’t seem to be a conclusive shot of Bailey’s knee hitting the ground. The Eagles kept the ball and ultimately kicked a field goal.

Then, on Boston College’s fourth possession, running back Patrick Garwo took a handoff on second-and-2 but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. Linebacker Phil Campbell seemed to strip the ball and recover it, but Garwo was ruled down on the play and the call was not overturned, despite replays seeming to clearly show the ball coming out before Garwo was down.

Officiating is not why Pitt lost to Boston College on Saturday, but it’s undeniably part of the game.