Pitt survives scare from Duke to record 3rd straight victory
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Rightfully and without any apologies, Pitt’s 28-26 victory against Duke on Saturday goes under the “W” column in the ACC standings.
It was Pitt’s seventh against four losses, an encouraging third in a row during a troubling season where the offense has struggled to find solid ground.
There also was some historic significance attached to a game played in front of a crowd of 45,362.
Coach Pat Narduzzi has won 60 games in his eight seasons and 101 games, and he walked out of Acrisure Stadium tied for second place with the legendary Pop Warner in all-time victories as a Pitt coach.
November victories are important, but Narduzzi predicted he would be in no mind to celebrate when he reached his front door.
“I’ll go home and watch this videotape and make myself sick,” he said.
On a cold afternoon when the 29-degree temperature was 50 degrees chillier than the previous home game Nov. 5, Arizona native Kedon Slovis threw two interceptions, Pitt committed eight penalties for a loss of 80 yards and the Panthers avoided disaster when walk-on punter Caleb Junko dropped a snap in the fourth quarter of a one-score game.
“We tried to give it to them. That’s for sure,” Narduzzi said.
An optimist might say the defense stepped up when it was most needed. Duke (7-4, 4-3) failed to score after each interception, and defensive end Deslin Alexandre and linebacker SirVocea Dennis foiled the 2-point conversion attempt with 47 seconds to play that would have sent the game into overtime.
But even the defense showed some warts, allowing a team better known for its ground game to throw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Same sad story: In the fourth quarter of losses this season to Georgia Tech, Louisville and North Carolina, Pitt allowed 21, 17 and 17 points.
“As you can see there, we still have some room for improvement,” safety Erick Hallett said.
The solution? “Get after the quarterback better, playing better coverage, playing different coverage.”
Hallett said the first of the late scores was a communication problem in the secondary. Wide receiver Jordan Moore was all alone for a 49-yard score.
The second late score succeeded against what Narduzzi called “perfect coverage.”
“The tailback (Jaylen Coleman) slipped out of the backfield, linebacker didn’t get it, didn’t see it,” the coach said. “We obviously didn’t practice that enough.”
Despite all the problems, Pitt won the game, thanks to a variety of big plays. After all, Pitt held a 28-14 lead more than five minutes into the fourth quarter.
Perhaps the most important play — again with some historical cache — was safety Brandon Hill’s 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown that gave Pitt its two-touchdown lead. It was the fifth defensive touchdown of the season, tying a record set in 1986 and matched last season.
“I was just pursuing to the ball like coach (Randy) Bates (defensive coordinator) teaches us,” Hill said. “We always practice scoop and score. It just shows who we are, what type of defense we are.”
Pitt’s 20-14 halftime lead wouldn’t have been possible without contributions from players who ranged from Slovis and running back Izzy Abanikanda to long snapper Byron Floyd.
Pitt’s first touchdown was a gift from the Blue Devils when punt returner Jalon Calhoun couldn’t secure the catch, and Floyd was there to recover on the 6.
Abanikanda scored on the next play as part of his eighth 100-yard game this season (17 carries, 113 yards), the most since Dion Lewis’ 10 in 2009.
Pitt’s second touchdown was a well-executed 73-yard drive in the final three minutes before intermission.
Slovis found Jared Wayne for a 15-yard score with 10 seconds left after he hit Bub Means, Wayne and Konata Mumpfield for 20-, 24- and 11-yard completions.
“That ball came out quick,” Narduzzi said of the touchdown pass. “He was decisive with it, aggressive with the throw.”
Said Slovis: “Playing smart. Good way to go into half. That’s what ends up winning the game most times.”
Victimized by three drops by his pass catchers and Means not looking back for a pass that fell incomplete, Slovis finished 15 of 32 for 190 yards.
“We have to execute better. We have to give (offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. ) the confidence to keep calling it, too,” Slovis said.
In the end, Duke coach Mike Elko kept the 3½-hour game from going into overtime when he tried and failed to go for two points after the first touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Elko told reporters he decided to play the fourth quarter to win the game, not force overtime.
“We just didn’t feel like with the wind conditions and how we were struggling to run the football (63 yards rushing),” he said, “we didn’t feel like overtime was the best way to win that football game.”
So after quarterback Riley Leonard’s third touchdown pass, Elko called a reverse throwback pass, similar to what Pitt used in 2019 to defeat Central Florida.
But Alexandre blew up the play, and Dennis tackled wide receiver Jordan Moore, who appeared to be looking for Leonard in the corner of the end zone.
Asked about his 60th victory, Narduzzi predictably downplayed matching the legendary Warner, who coached from 1915-1923.
“It’s an honor. It’s not me. It’s our football team. It’s our coaching staff. It’s everybody. We’ve had some great coaches come through this university,” he said. “It was a great team win, and we do it all together.”
Even if — as he said — “We did it the hard way.”