Pitt lost 30-19 to Duke on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., to finish its year 3-9, the first time under Pat Narduzzi to have fewer than five wins in a season. The loss showed a glimmer of hope that Pitt might finally have the right quarterback for the future but still exposed negative themes that have been a big problem all season and will require answers from Narduzzi to fix before next season.
What worked: Nate Yarnell didn’t win the game, but he showed a lot of promise that Pitt could have its quarterback of the future.
The redshirt sophomore finished with 25 completions on 35 attempts for 265 yards, two touchdown passes and an interception. Yarnell, much like he did in his start last week against Boston College, showed poise, command of the field and accurate passing to lead Pitt’s offense.
Late in the first quarter, Yarnell conducted a 15-play, 93-yard touchdown drive when he completed 3 of 4 passes for 51 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown pass off play action to tight end Karter Johnson. It was another impressive show of Yarnell’s ability to work through progressions, as he refused to take the easy option and found the deeper option downfield.
Yarnell was Pitt’s best weapon against Duke and gave the Panthers chances to mount a comeback. On a drive early in the fourth quarter, Yarnell delivered a perfect pass to tight end Malcolm Epps in the back of the end zone, but the pass was dropped. The next play, he scrambled for 14 yards and set up Pitt with a good chance to score, but the play was wiped out by a blindside block penalty on C’Bo Flemister. That led to a 4th-and-long play when the Panthers were caught out of position with a well-timed blitz by Duke and Yarnell heaved a pass to the end zone that was intercepted.
But on the very next drive, Yarnell delivered what was the best play of the game for Pitt. Still down 27-13, Yarnell waited through a play when Duke had all of Pitt’s receivers covered, bought time by rolling to his right, then fired an accurate pass to the back of the end zone, where Bub Means leaped up and made an impressive catch with a toe tap for the 14-yard touchdown.
It wasn’t a winning performance, but it was a positive showing for the young quarterback in just his third start, especially on the road. If anything, Yarnell has justified his place as Pitt’s top quarterback going into the offseason.
What didn’t work: Pitt continued to lose field-position battles in the game due to poorly timed penalties and lack of execution on special teams.
The Panthers looked like they had control of the first half with a 10-3 lead, but then punter Caleb Junko shanked his punt from Pitt’s own 10. The kick only went 15 yards and gave Duke starting field position at Pitt’s 25. That led to the Blue Devils’ first touchdown and a major shift in momentum.
Only one time did Pitt start with the ball outside of its own 25, while Duke started with the ball past its own 40 four times before its final drive when it knelt out the clock. The Blue Devils scored 17 points off those drives alone, and that made their jobs that much easier. Duke only scored 13 points on its six drives that started from either at or behind its own 25. Had the Panthers managed to perform better on special teams and win a few more of those field-position battles, a win would’ve been much more in reach.
But on top of that issue, Pitt’s penalty problem reared its ugly head yet again. The Panthers had calmed down their penalties in the past two games, but their 85 penalties were still the most in the ACC going into Saturday’s games. That continued with nine penalties for 93 yards called against Pitt in Saturday’s loss.
Some of those penalties came in the biggest moments. Flemister’s blindside block turned a scramble that created 3rd-and-1 into 2nd-and-24, which eventually led to Pitt’s only interception thrown in the game. Defensive end Samuel Okunlola committed two personal foul penalties on third-down plays that helped the Blue Devils get better field position on two drives that each resulted in field goals. A.J. Woods also committed a defensive pass interference penalty on another third down of one of those drives that helped Duke get better field position for one of those field goals.
Discipline has been a problem for Pitt this season, and that’s a continued issue for Narduzzi. Over the past three seasons, Pitt has either finished with the most or the second-most penalties in the ACC. It’s something that hadn’t cost Pitt in the previous two seasons when it finished with 20 wins over two years, including an ACC championship and a Sun Bowl victory. But this year, it certainly came back to bite the Panthers.
What’s next: What’s more important than Pitt’s finish Saturday is how it handles the next few days. In today’s college football world, the end of the regular season is the time for teams to restructure coaching staffs and begin their campaigns to recruit out of the transfer portal and keep as many of their stars as they can.
Pitt’s offense finished either last or next to last in the ACC in points scored, total yards gained and rushing yards gained. Those are numbers that suggest changes might be needed on offense. Whatever changes are made, Pitt needs to make them happen fast, and Narduzzi needs a plan that can keep the confidence of Pitt’s offensive playmakers and prospects to want to stick around and attract players from the transfer portal.
