Pitt’s pass rushers still impact the quarterback.

Sometimes, they get him on the ground. (Nineteen sacks in six games isn’t bad). But sometimes, they whiff.

Sometimes, they force a quick pass that’s up for grabs. Sometimes, someone drops it.

“We dropped four, maybe five interceptions (in the loss to Georgia Tech),” defensive coordinator Randy Bates said.

Pitt has returned two interceptions for touchdowns, but its total (five) is greater than only four other ACC teams.

When Pitt’s run defense is up to standard, coach Pat Narduzzi wears it like a badge of honor. It’s what he believes sets the great defensive teams apart from the good ones.

— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) October 20, 2022

But Narduzzi also isn’t shy about mentioning he’d like to see more physicality at the point of attack over the final six games. Allowing an average of 125.3 rushing yards per game is OK, but four ACC teams are better.

Perhaps all those elements together are what Bates was talking about after practice one day this week when he said, “I think we’ve been inconsistent. That’s the way I’d put it.”

Bates points to a series of injuries that, he said, has caused more than half of the two-deep depth chart to miss at least half of a game.

Not that he’s crying about it. He has been coaching since the early 1980s, and he understands good teams overcome injuries.

“It’s part of college football. It’s part of the NFL. It’s what you do,” he said. “You live with who you got, and you hope at some point those extra reps (for the backups) will help us down the stretch.”

Several key defensive contributors have missed multiple games, including ends Dayon Hayes (four), Deslin Alexandre (three), Nate Temple (three) and Habakkuk Baldonado (one), linebacker Brandon George (three), defensive tackle Devin Danielson (two), defensive back Rashad Battle (three) and cornerback Marquis Williams (one). The good news: Alexandre, Baldonado, Danielson and Williams played in the most recent game.

“I’m excited that we’re going to be close to full speed, if not full speed, this weekend,” Bates said of the trip to Louisville for a Saturday night test. “We’re starting to get used to playing together with the people who play together.

“That’s the hard thing. We’ve had a lot of different people rolling in. You would prefer have guys roll in, as opposed to start. But that happens.”

If players are, indeed, getting well and most of the injured are returning, the time is right. Pitt goes on the road for two consecutive night games — Saturday at Louisville and Oct. 29 at ACC Coastal leader No. 22 North Carolina — before confronting undefeated No. 14 Syracuse on Nov. 5 at Acrisure Stadium.

Baldonado and Alexandre’s return might help mitigate the double-teams on interior tackle Calijah Kancey, who was named this week to four midseason All-America teams by ESPN, The Athletic, CBS Sports and Pro Football Focus.

Bates said defensive improvement is a matter of simply doing the basic, fundamental tasks properly.

“It comes down to alignment and assignment about nine times out of 10,” he said. “Those little things make a huge difference, way more than all the fancy defenses.”

Linebacker Shayne Simon said the off week might have allowed everyone time to look for answers. It’s worked in the past. Pitt has won four in a row after its off week, dating to 2018.

“The bye week helps you to take a step back and slow down a little bit,” Simon said. “Transferring that to the game is the hardest part, but that’s what we’re here to do.”

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