Pitt notebook: ‘Angry’ linemen lead defensive charge vs. Syracuse
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Perhaps the men on Pitt’s defensive line were embarrassed.
All that talk last week about defensive tackle Calijah Kancey’s ejection being the turning point of the loss to North Carolina might have triggered the kind of emotion that can lead to dominance.
Pat Narduzzi’s favorite victory formula worked effectively Saturday when Pitt combined an effective ground game with a defense that allowed Syracuse an average of 1 yard per carry (25 for 25), didn’t surrender a touchdown for the first time since the 2020 opener and held the Orange to only 145 total yards. It was the fewest yards Pitt gave up to an ACC opponent in seven years.
Pitt also forced Syracuse to punt after three plays seven times.
“Well, I think they played angry,” Narduzzi said. “(Defensive line) coach (Charlie) Partridge did a great job of just getting them ready to go and got after them in practice. They showed up. The performance a week ago was not who we are.”
Leading the charge was defensive end Deslin Alexandre, the 24-year-old senior who recorded 2½ sacks and a safety.
“You can’t do that by yourself. It was a whole defense thing, everybody doing their job,” he said. “I was just the lucky one able to make that play for my team, and my team needed it.
“No matter what we go through, I’m going to continue pushing. We’re never going to put our heads down.”
At the end of his brief question-and-answer session with reporters Saturday night, Alexandre made a plea to help him in his quest to raise $50,000 for the children of Haiti, his native land.
“Something that is really passionate to me is giving back to the community,” he said. “I would love to continue to use my platform to give back.”
Don’t ask
The question popped up again Saturday when Narduzzi was asked if he considered yanking quarterback Kedon Slovis after he threw an interception, his seventh of the season compared to only five touchdown passes.
The question, actually, was unnecessary because replacing Slovis apparently never entered Narduzzi’s mind.
“No, not even close, no,” he said.
Other than the interception, Slovis played well, throwing for 176 yards against the nation’s third-best passing defense (an average of 164.5 yards per game).
“I thought he played solid. We’ll go back and look at the tape, but I think it was good,” Narduzzi said. “He played good enough to win the football game.”
Slovis to Wayne
Meanwhile, Slovis is starting to look for and connect with wide receiver Jared Wayne on a regular basis.
For the second week in a row, Wayne reached triple digits in receiving yardage (eight targets, six catches, 102 yards). Last week, he was targeted 14 times, with seven receptions for 161 yards.
“We know he’s a guy we can rely on,” Narduzzi said. “He’s been our go-to guy, he’s our deep-ball guy and he’s a playmaker. I know Kedon can trust him, and I know the offensive staff trusts him.”
But there doesn’t seem to be much variety in the passing game.
Only Wayne and Konata Mumpfield caught multiple balls. Tight end Gavin Bartholomew was targeted only twice and caught one for 4 yards. Wayne and Bartholomew had drops.
Mumpfield caught a pass each time he was targeted, six for six for 59 yards (56 after the catch).
“I don’t think we were able to get the ball to Bub (Means), but that’s just how it rolls,” the coach said.
Back-to-back 100-yard receiving games hadn’t happened at Pitt since Jordan Addison did it in the 2021 ACC championship game and Peach Bowl.
Expecting Abanikanda vs. Virginia
Narduzzi didn’t offer any details on what kept running back Izzy Abanikanda off the field, except to admit, “He was sore (last week).”
“I think he probably could have gone if we wanted to, but he’s smiling and he’s happy in the locker room and we got a win without him,” Narduzzi said. “The thing I said to him is, ‘You’re going to be really healthy for (the Virginia game next Saturday).’ ”
Sauls’ streak
Ben Sauls stretched his successful field goal streak to five with a 43-yarder in the first half. He’s 10 for 13 this season.