I believe that the overwhelming majority of Pitt fans have no interest in even pretending that there is a case to be made to get rid of Head Coach Pat Narduzzi. Upsetting, maddening, frustrating and every other adjective you might care to use as the last two losses have been; they are not enough to even consider firing assistants or coordinators. Let alone the head coach.
That said, I do put the loss to UNC primarily on the coaching in the 8:44 of the game. Specifically on the head coach who once more defaulted to coaching only like a defensive coordinator.
Despite the tremendous flaw that is Pitt’s secondary and the other flaw that is the passing game. Pitt was in excellent position to win this game at the start of the 4th quarter. Up by ten. Pitt had completely removed the UNC running game from the equation. The Pitt defense was surviving against the pass, especially with a good amount of pressure disrupting things.
Chris Blewitt after early struggles came up big when asked to kick long field goals. Including the 40-yarder to give Pitt a 13 point lead with 11:04 left in the game. The defense then forced a 3-and-out and Pitt had a chance to — if not put the game away — at least not let UNC have enough time to score.
This is where the offense that had brutalized UNC all day with the ground game that did so much damage on jet sweeps and going outside could really end it. UNC did not handle the jet sweep well. Even when UNC stacked — as they were all day — against the run.
Instead the play calling went for two straight runs up the middle? The logic was purely based on not making a mistake. Running straight ahead so there would be no accidentally going out of bounds. Run in the tight area so that the ball carrier would keep both hands on the ball and not fumble. Even more bizarre was using Chawntez Moss and Quadree Henderson. Guys that are better in space. Not James Conner or Qadree Ollison. Or even fullback George Aston.The result was 4 yards and an obvious passing situation. The passing play was a good call, but Nate Peterman flat out missed Tre Tipton on what could have been a first down. A pass to the side. Again a safe play.
It is a strategy built when you know your defense can stop the other team. In this case, a strategy built on an eventuality.
Eventually the defense will be able to do that. Eventually the secondary will be better. Eventually. Not this year.
This was the third straight game where we saw it happen. Pitt barely got away with it against Penn State when the offense went from creative, motion, shifting. Devastating. To straight ahead runs against totally stacked-up defenses and attempts to eat the clock. Late in the game against Oklahoma State after Pitt had tied the game and gotten the ball back. A sudden shift in offensive strategy to straight runs and no passes that came close to being more than a few yards.
All while facing teams with decent to good quarterbacks and much the same with the receivers. While Pitt has a very, very, very porous secondary.
Just as maddening of watching UNC march down on Pitt during the subsequent drive to make it 36-30. Seeing Pitt burn two timeouts on defense. Not simply on the drive, but within one play of each other. And those were the final two timeouts Pitt had in the half. All three used by the defense. No one but a defensive coordinator would do that. Even with a defense like Pitt’s.
The head coach has to know that you don’t burn the timeouts like that on defense when you are winning. That is not acceptable.
Even then there was a chance. 5:24 left and Pitt could run the clock. As long as they can pick up a first down. You know. YOU KNOW how bad the defense is against the pass and how quickly they can score. And Pitt did it again. Runs straight ahead into the stacked defense on the first two plays. And then a screen pass for no gain.
I can’t even be mad at the defense. They are what we’ve seen them to be. But to watch the offense turtle up like that. That is on the head coach who has final say on the playcalling. On the very obvious strategy at that point in the game. No head coach is that hands-off.
Narduzzi isn’t mute on the sidelines just having conversations with the players. He’s the head coach who is talking to the coordinators and planning.
This is not the last time this season Pitt will face this sort of situation. Coach Narduzzi has to get over his own biases to deal with the real situation on the field. Not the idealized goal.
I believe he will. He has to. But, it better be sooner rather than later.
Every loss hurts. The Oklahoma State loss hurt but it was a non-conference game, on the road, against an angry team that was clicking on all cylinders on offense…oh, and with a terribly long lightning delay. We battled back. Had a chance and just didn’t exactly execute.
UNC stings way more. Obviously, it is a conference game and a team that has a legit shot as repeating as Coastal champs. It was there for the taking. UNC showed no signs of stopping our offense. Until we stopped ourselves. The last 3 possessions or so of the game resembled nothing of what we ran for the first 3 quarters.
Players have to make plays as well. Peterman missed a Tipton in the flat on a pretty easy throw that would have resulted in a 1st down. He also missed Ollison on pretty much the same throw a series later.
It’s frustrating because we know what we have with the pass defense. There is no confusion there. We have to wrap up games with our offense and our offense is what works really, really well for the 1st 3 quarters of games, not what we turtle into in the 4th quarter.
I know teams will sell out to stop the run down the stretch. But heck, they do that all game and we still have success. PSU, Ok. St. and UNC showed no signs of stopping the jet sweep. They didn’t magically adjust in the 4th quarter. We just went away from the play.
I’m biased but I think if we stick with our offense we are 4-0. We are at least 3-1 and 1-0 in ACC play.
The pass D is obviously a nightmare. UNC, to their credit, made clutch plays in the 4th quarter. I still think it’s crazy not to bracket Switzer on 4th down but that’s just me.
Tough Monday morning following that loss but still H2P!
Also Narduzzi and Conklin have sacrificed any pass defense to stop the run, which we do extremely well. But Football is a passing game these days, and we can neither pass or stop the pass. Kind of amazing how well we score without the pass. Until the Fourth Quarter.
Against PSU, we had an 84 yd punt return and then a TD. Then 2, 3 and outs and 3 plays to end the game.
Against OK ST, 4 and out, 2, 3 and outs, a 5 and out, and 10 plays and an int.
Against UNC, a 3 and out, a field goal drive, 2 more 3 and outs.
This is total futility when the game is on the line by an offense that scores with relative ease during the first three quarters.
Is it execution or playcalling? Yes, it is poor execution of bad playcalling.
This job wasn’t a total rebuild either. There are three bonafide 1st round draft picks on the offensive line, a stellar RB corps, and an NFL-caliber TE. When is the last time Pitt had three first-round draft picks on the offensive line? And yet somehow, depending on how you want to look at it, Pitt is a dropped pass from being 1-3 and staring three straight crushing last-second losses. What would the storyline be if Hamilton holds on to that pass and scores?
And I disagree completely with the narrative that Pitt lost to teams that are more talented than they are. UNC and Okie State are marginally more-talented than Pitt, yet are still deeply-flawed teams. Both will lose 4-5 games this season. PSU is probably more talented than both, if that’s the argument. The fact is, great coaches win with who they have. Brian Kelly won the Big East two out of his three years there, with what was probably the 4th-best roster in the league. And there are other predictable examples. But that’s great coaching. And that should be the expectation for Narduzzi. Otherwise, Wannstedt was good enough.
Trouble is Hamlin, Hill and Hendrix, the 3 newcomers who were supposed to make an impact are out (Hill will not return)
The ONLY reason we are competitive this year is because of the OL.
We wouldn’t have to “wait till Narduzzi gets his players” if he would use what he has now to his best advantage.
Coaching is about taking advantage of your strengths, minimizing your weaknesses and taking advantage of your opponents weaknesses.
In the fourth quarter our coaches have done just the opposite.
While I hope it comes to pass, I don’t like the stubborness and unwillingness to change. PSU should have set off enough alarm bells. It is two games later and the pattern is established, on how to beat Pitt.
Also, the coach has obviously hit the recruiting wall. Local recruits have not bought in yet. To compete at a high level, you need elite players all over the field.
Next year will be a big transition from Chryst to Narduzzi players. He needs a great class this year if there is any chance of your 2 year prediction having merit.
Duke just beat ND at ND, Miami will be getting a lot better, and UNC has a strong program.
Things seem to be getting tougher in the ACC.
Franklin will probably be gone at the end of the year.
The other thing I would point out are the LIMITATIONS with the Offensive Play Calling and the performance of the Offensive Line.
I’ve called Canada’s Offense “Smoke ‘n Mirrors.” And that’s EXACTLY what it is.
You think you have a RUN Game, until you REALLY need one late in the Game.
You say you trust your Quarterback, but you have him put up numbers you’d expect to see from a High School QB.
Quadree Henderson, and where would we be at this point without him… makes the point that UNC started doing a good job of shutting the Jet Sweep in the Second Half.
What happens in upcoming Games if the Opposing Team starts shutting it down in the First Half?
Hate to even think about it.
Like I’ve been saying, Canada’s Offense is simply NOT set up for a Power Running Attack that’s going to get James Conner his 200 yards.
And even if it were, NOT sure this O-Line would be able to get the job done.
But I guess we’ll never know.
@gc Perhaps your message wasn’t intended as I understand it, but how has the defense made enough stops? Pitt has given up an average of 40 points and 440 yards passing per game over the last three games. They’ve surrendered 8 passing touchdowns with only one interception. Their red zone defense is atrocious. The Pitt offense has clearly dominated time of possession in each of those games.
I completely understand criticism of the offense being extremely conservative in the fourth quarter. I would have straight up blamed HCPN if Pitt had lost the PSU game due to that approach because it actually started in the third quarter of that game, presumably because Pitt had so dominated the first half and there was not yet clear evidence of just how bad the pass defense is.
I don’t have the time to research it, but it sure seems to me that the Narduzzi regime burns a lot of defensive timeouts that ultimately don’t serve the purpose. Didn’t Narduzzi burn a defensive timeout in the Penn State game just prior to PSU completing a 34 yard pass to convert a 4th and 16 on their final drive?
HCPN needs to start playing with what he has rather than what he wants or this season may turn ugly after GT. I am assuming GT will struggle to throw but then again Navy threw very successfully against Pitt in the bowl game blowout.
The way to win is to keep the ball away from the opponents offense, something we have done well for three quarters.
Even if Hendrix was only as good as Blair, he would have been another pass rusher. He is bigger and stronger. No we don’t know for sure, just like we don’t know whether Hamlin would be any better. But on a team that could use help at both positions….
I agree the defense is weak and can’t hold a lead.
Makes it crucial for the offense to keep scoring throughout the game.
We all love Narduzzi’s attitude. But these 2 losses just accelerated the jury’s deliberation on his ability to be the head coach on Saturday too. The man is of the age where changing one’s ways are challenging, but if he hasn’t learned anything in the last 3 weeks put your travel agent on alert for cheap fares to Birmingham.
I can’t imagine how happy the UNC coaches must have been to see our play calling on our final possession. It is as if we made the decision to punt on first down. It looked like our strategy was “Oh well if they are willing to give us a first down we’ll take it, but otherwise we’ll run three safe plays and then punt.” Pathetic. And our coaches have made that same decision for three straight games, so don’t expect them to change anytime soon.
I hope he’s not so hard-headed that he refuses to see what’s obvious – you can’t win in college football anymore playing shut down defense. You’ve got to keep your foot on the gas and play to win.
If nothing else, the defense should be much faster all-around next year … Brightwell, Fields, Coleman, Ford, Hamlin, Miller, Wirginis, Whitehead and hopefully McKee can all make big contributions next year
Those are a whole lot of really young guys that you mention, with little or no experience.
Plus a first year QB.
Just like a few years ago.
It seems like we always have huge gaps in the pipeline.
I’m concerned that if the offense doesn’t figure out a way to stretch defenses and throw the ball downfield, they will not be able to continue to put up 30+ points a game and 300 yds on the ground. This offense is too one dimensional and that may end up being a big problem.
If this team cannot consistently put up 30 points a game, we could be looking at a 4-8 type season…
“Turtle Up Panthers, Turtle Up!”
H2P
I’m not second guessing the offensive play calling in the 4th qtr, I believe every effort was made on those 3rd down plays passing the ball to secure first downs, but you realize if Pitt’s offense had really turtled up as in Tino time Pitt runs the ball on 3rd down making the clock run and NC does not have 2 seconds left to score the winning score. Turtle up 1 time on 3rd down running the ball before punting wins in NC.
Running the ball two plays is easy for us to say now but its not fair to the coaching staff after the fact to second guess them.
Would not be the smartest thing for him to do, but we’ve been down this road before, and have seen plenty of guys make bad decisions.
after this game at the beginning of the season. Now your worried about 2 years from now.
Talk about a bad coaching move how about running from the 5 with no timeouts. NC is lucky that kid is 6’5 and at OSU our kid fell down on slick turf.
We didn’t have Caprara who comes up with a great play every game and to be that close in all these games has been a great testimony to the character of these kids. Also great fun to watch.
Chas is right on with his analysis. We had some bad breaks with the health of these kids so far with our recruits from last year, but they are the right players for our weak spots. We’ll be fine H2P
I stand corrected. Nick is right.
Someone above made the point (gc?) that since we go conservative in the 4th period and go 3 and out most of the “drives”, we might as well try a few long balls, and risk stopping the clock vs getting a few more first downs. At this point, we have nothing to lose.
Off subject, I watched a little of the Duke/ND game – either Duke is no pushover, or ND is. Either way, I don’t think we will have our hands full with them.
Every year for the past four or so I have gone out on the limb for at least ONE.
Narduzzi and his STUBBORN mentality and LACK of experience makes it tough to do.
But I’m sure there will be at least one. Well let’s hope. George Tech looks like a Contender.
Maybe because of his Dad’s success.
But you got to wonder “Why did it take him TWENTY Years to get his FIRST Head Coaching job?”
Can’t argue with the offense and what they’ve done but do question why they’re not opening the offense just a little. You can’t be completely one dimensional, it’s about 65-70% run to pass but deceiving part is majority of passes are those long hand off types. Need just 3-5 passes over the middle, behind the LBs, keep these defenses honest.
If this coaching staff doesn’t make adjustments it could be a really long season. Marshall can throw the ball, as well as Va. Tech, Miami, Duke, Clemson and we always have problems with Ga. Tech’s running game.
?@Pitt_FB
RB James Conner is the first player in #Pitt football history to rush for a touchdown in 12 consecutive games played.
If only Narduzzi and Canada realized so much!
He’ll be MORE than glad to take the Starting Job from the other QBs currently on the Roster.
Nonetheless … we lose 2 games by a collective 8 points that we were underdogs to 2 good teams. Yet, some people are here are on the ledge.
I never once thought this team was ready for the big time. I do think, just like last year, that we may compete for the Coastal title .. but I also thought both UNC and Miami were better than us. Both have better athletes, that’s for sure. We are at least another year away, especially with getting our defense up to ACC speed, but I see a lot of freshman and sophs getting more and more PT — they just need more experience.
The culture problem is the harder to fix. It’s started with a complete rip and replace of the Pitt administration from School Chancellor to AD to Coach. That’s a start. The harder part is the kids that have been in the program and are part of this cultural problem. It’s not their faults but they are a hinderance to progress. Once they are graduated from the program, hopefully the new recruits aren’t tainted, the school can progress. There’s been talk about how good coaches win right away. It’s not that simple … and very very very rare. Circumstance plays a big part and PN did not inherit a team in a good place mentally to go along with the deep deficiencies in talent and depth. The fans contribute to this too. It’s human nature. Patience is required though. Pitt, and it’s fans, are like a sensitive kid right now. PN is trying to teach the kids how to close out games. The whole 4th qtr program is an effort to do that. It hasn’t worked out that way … yet. Eventually, I think it will. It’s not easy going from the one being bullied to being the bully. That’s what PN is trying to do and it’s not a one or two year fix.
We’re numb at this point…in a dazed mediocrity trance.
Those three timeouts prove the defensive mindset.
Also, not rejecting the one penalty to make it fourth down.
The fear of offensive failure (turnover) in the fourth is palpable, putting more pressure on Peterman not to throw the int. All three misses lead the receiver by too much.