Everyone’s happy after Pitt victory, but there are issues Pat Narduzzi says he will address
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Pitt’s victory against Louisville was a relief for a team that had lost four in a row. It also put the first blemish on the Cardinals’ ledger and, perhaps, will help determine what two teams reach the ACC championship game.
“It’s been a while since we had a good, positive, healthy, fresh team meeting in here,” coach Pat Narduzzi said of the regular Sunday get-together with his players. “It’s always fun to have one of those.”
Pats on the back for everyone, but it’s also Narduzzi’s job to point out what went wrong and how to fix it.
“We can still do a lot better. It’s not like we’re a finished product yet. Still learning, still getting better,” he said Monday at his weekly news conference. “Too many long (touchdown) drives (by Louisville, two of 75 yards), too many drives that continue to go that we should stop earlier, execution-wise.”
But defense won that game with two interceptions, including a pick-6, four sacks and stops on 12 of 17 third- and fourth-down situations. The Panthers (2-4, 1-2 ACC) lead the ACC with an average of 3.33 sacks per game (eighth nationally).
It’s the offense that still needs work, the coach said, pointing out seven Pitt possessions that netted 8 yards or fewer, including three that ended up with negative yardage. Plus, Pitt’s offense earned only 13 first downs to 28 by the Cardinals.
The offensive line remains in a state of flux, with five combinations in the six games. There have been two different players at four of the five positions, three at right guard. In the Louisville game, left to right, it was Branson Taylor, Jason Collier, Terrence Moore, freshman B.J. Williams and redshirt freshman Ryan Baer. The only player in the group with starting experience before this season is Taylor (four starts).
Still, the pass protection was good. Louisville recorded only one sack of quarterback Christian Veilleux, whose strength is a quick release.
Many of the changes have been injury-related. Matt Goncalves, one of the ACC’s best tackles, and guard Ryan Jacoby are out for the season. Senior Blake Zubovic, who has played left and right guard, was kept on the sideline Saturday night for the first time all season. He was dressed and appeared ready to go, but he did not play a snap, according to the game book released by Pitt officials.
“He didn’t get beat out, put it that way,” Narduzzi said. “Blake’s still a starter, and if he’s available (next Saturday at Wake Forest), we’ll find out.”
Asked to assess the line’s performance, the coach said, “Overall, pretty good. That (Louisville) front is a nasty front. Still fundamental things (need fixing), ID issues as far as where we’re blocking to in the run game. But you give up one sack, you’re getting a little better.”
Narduzzi referenced the line’s inexperience when he was asked about Pitt’s run game that is averaging 111 yards and is next-to-last (13th) in the ACC.
“We’ll do a better job of checking how many guys they have in the box and doing that just with some of the youth we have there,” Narduzzi said. “We ran in some pretty heavy (boxes). We’ve got to find a way to better get out of a play, if we can. It’s better to run a play and everybody going in the right direction than running a play with some guys going that way and some guys going (another) way. We’ll get better at that, I think, week by week.”
The first step in improvement would come with the return of center Jake Kradel, who has missed the past three games. He is listed with an OR next to his name on the depth chart. Moore’s name is above Kradel’s.
“I don’t know, maybe Kradel will be ready to go. Maybe Blake will be ready to go,” Narduzzi said. “There’s a chance this week where I don’t think there was a chance last week.”
The offense is getting better overall, recording four touchdowns for the first time against a Power 5 opponent. Nonetheless, Pitt gained only 15 yards more than its total against Virginia Tech when Phil Jurkovec was at quarterback (288/273).
“Christian threw some nice balls. He got the ball out quick, as well,” Narduzzi said. “He made good decisions with the ball. I liked where he placed the ball (on two touchdown passes). But he can do a better job on some of his out routes, which, Coach Cigs (offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.) will fix his feet.
“We’ll find out this week (in practice) because we’ll throw a lot more out routes just to see what he does with his footwork, but I think that’s just being a young guy and trying to figure it out still.”
Repeating his previous remarks after Jurkovec struggled, Narduzzi said problems in the passing game are shared by everyone.
“One time, Bub (Means) releases inside. He should be releasing outside. Christian thinks he’s running a comeback, and he runs a vertical route. Those will get all cleaned up, just missed IDs.”
NOTES: Senior cornerback M.J. Devonshire and redshirt freshman defensive end Sam Okunlola were named ACC defensive back and rookie of the week. … Okunlola shares the team lead in sacks (three) with defensive end Bam Brima and linebacker Shayne Simon. … Quarterback Phil Jurkovec was moved to third on the depth chart, behind Nate Yarnell.