Pitt Take 5: Panthers, Demon Deacons try to salvage disappointing seasons
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Maybe those outside of Pittsburgh and Winston-Salem, N.C., won’t pay much attention, but Pitt (2-4, 1-2) and Wake Forest (3-3. 0-3) will line up Saturday for a game carrying major importance for both underperforming ACC programs.
After meeting for the ACC championship two years ago, neither team is even close to contention this season. A bowl berth is such a longshot, no player or coach has a right to even think about it.
For Pitt, five losses with five games to play will be difficult to carry into South Bend next week.
Is Pitt fully recovered from its four-game losing streak? Was a change at quarterback enough to save the season?
“It’s like a new season,” offensive left tackle Branson Taylor said hopefully.
Can Wake Forest survive injuries to its two best quarterbacks?
Can its offense score more touchdowns than its average of one per game in ACC competition?
Let’s think about this game with the following five thoughts:
1. Can Williams show the way?
In many ways, senior cornerback Marquis Williams keeps his finger on the pulse beating in the Pitt locker room. He’s a vocal leader during pregame and has the experience of 54 games, 40 starts and six interceptions since 2018 to back up anything he has to say.
“We knew one day we were going to get over the adversity,” he said of the victory against Louisville. “As we all know, everybody goes through adversity each and every day of their life. It just seemed that our adversity was a little bit longer and we just have to keep climbing the ladder now.”
He said there was no letdown in effort during the losing streak. He said players are working “extra hard” in practice, studying more video and arriving at the facility up to an hour earlier than mandated.
He said losing created “an ugly feeling.”
“As the team we are, the toughness and the knowledge and the effort we put into this program, we knew that it wouldn’t last for long.”
His warning: “There’s going to be some adversity again some way, somehow through the (rest of the) season.”
2. Fear the RPOs
Pitt is accustomed to confronting run/pass option offenses such as what Wake Forest employs. The Panthers had no trouble with it in 2021, intercepting quarterback Sam Hartman (now at Notre Dame) four times and recording five sacks.
Only Williams and defensive tackle Tyler Bentley remain from the starting defense in that game. Current defensive end Dayon Hayes and cornerback A.J. Woods came off the bench to record a sack and interception, respectively.
The key to neutralizing the RPOs, said Williams, is for defenders to stick to receivers as long as possible. “You never know when the quarterback is going to throw the ball. We will adapt to it. Whatever they do, we’ll be ready.”
Pitt safeties coach Cory Sanders said the RPOs offer “challenges we want.”
“We have to have good eye discipline. Our eyes down, chin down. Not seeing too much in the backfield. We have to make plays in space. We have to tackle well. It’s something we have to continuously improve on because we struggled with (tackling) two weeks ago.”
Pitt has seen several RPO offenses in past seasons, but not in this one. Wake Forest will field the third distinctly different offense Pitt will have faced in the past three games.
Not just players, but coaches will be put to the test.
3. What about the Deacons’ QBs?
Compared with Wake Forest’s quarterback dilemma, Pitt’s situation under center is a mere annoyance.
The Demon Deacons lost quarterbacks Mitch Griffis and Michael Kern last week in its loss to Virginia Tech.
Coach Dave Clawson told the Winston-Salem Journal that Kern is out for at least two weeks. The Journal reported that Kern appeared to hurt his right shoulder when he was sacked late in the game.
Griffis, who has thrown six interceptions, went back in the game, but he may be hurting. Clawson followed the coach’s creed and was purposely vague about Griffis’ health.
“Mitch took some shots, and we’re not 100% sure of his availability,” Clawson said. “We’re going to let the week play out and see where we are.”
Next up would be redshirt sophomore Santino Marucci, who has taken only six snaps in his career — all against Norfolk State two years ago. He’s also played safety, tight end and running back for Wake Forest, and Clawson considers him one of the most athletic players on the roster.
“Offensively, we’ve clearly had a dramatic drop-off from where we’ve been the last six years,” Clawson said. “And we need to get better, and I believe we will.”
Wake Forest is the only program in the ACC to average at least 30 points per game each year since 2017.
4. We meet again
Wake Forest offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero performed that job at Clarion University from 1994-96, helping the Golden Eagles reach the NCAA Division II semifinals in his final season there.
Ruggiero was OC at Bowling Green in 2013 when the Falcons led the nation in time of possession. Over the past five seasons at Wake Forest, he helped the Demon Deacons set nearly 400 school records, according to his bio on the school’s website.
But he hasn’t been able to beat Pitt, losing all three times they’ve met.
In 2013, the Panthers of coach Paul Chryst defeated Bowling Green 30-27 in the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl. Pitt claimed the ACC Coastal championship with a victory in 2018 and the conference title in 2021 while Wake Forest was averaging 41 points per game.
Wake Forest’s per-game scoring average has dipped to 23.5 this season (13.7 in three ACC games).
5. No do-overs
Saturday will mark only the second time in a six-game stretch (Sept. 23-Nov. 4) that Pitt won’t play a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
Yes, it’s a difficult schedule, but Pitt also lost to unranked Big 12 teams Cincinnati and West Virginia. The Mountaineers (4-2, 2-1) are having a good season, but Cincinnati (2-4, 0-3) is on a four-game losing streak since defeating Pitt.