The numbers paint a clear picture of how Pitt won 20 games in 2021 and 2022 but fell to an embarrassing 3-9 last season.
And we’re just not talking about the offense.
Pitt’s defense — coach Pat Narduzzi’s baby — was not nearly as productive or disruptive in 2023, and defensive coordinator Randy Bates spent the offseason discovering what went wrong. In the first five days of spring drills, he’s trying to execute the repairs.
“The big thing we have to do is we have to make more plays, more big plays,” said Bates, who joins secondary coaches Archie Collins and Cory Sanders as the longest-tenured assistants on Narduzzi’s staff (seven seasons).
“We just have to pick the ball off when it gets to our hands. Those were things we didn’t do last year.”
Some coaches might make an excuse such as: “That’s the way the ball bounces.”
Bates, a retired Naval Lieutenant who has been coaching college football since 1982, isn’t wired that way.
“In this case, a lot of them were our own fault,” he said. “We dropped them (possible interceptions). We didn’t get (fumbles) when the ball was on the ground. We weren’t punching the ball out quite as much. This year, we’re certainly stressing it.”
Pitt forced only 16 turnovers (10 interceptions, six fumble recoveries) last season, compared to 2022 when they had 22 (14/8), a number that also was not up to Bates’ standards.
Pitt’s speciality — the quarterback sack — dropped from 48 in 2022 to 31 last season. Overall, tackles for a loss went from 91 to 83.
Perhaps it wasn’t a significant dropoff, but even one turnover can reverse a game’s momentum.
Bates said he and his staff, including new defensive line coach Tim Daoust, are working to improve their players’ pass-rushing technique.
“That’s the big thing.,” he said. “We’ll figure out who the twitchy guys on third down are and make sure we get the right guys on the field.”
Part of the problem last season was the run defense leaked 2,164 yards after holding opponents to 1,698 in 2022.
“There were a lot of second-and-5s, which makes it hard to get sacks because people are running it,” Bates said, “We have to get them in longer-yardage situations. It also helps at times to be ahead.
“There were times (Pitt struggled on run defense),” he said. “There were almost 200 more runs (against Pitt) last year.”
In losses to Cincinnati, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, Pitt surrendered 216, 199 and 172 yards on the ground. The Syracuse game was the most embarrassing. The Orange ran for 392 yards, a sin like no other in Narduzzi’s mind.
So, what can be done to fix it?
Pitt is undergoing a makeover on the defensive line after losing Tyler Bentley, Devin Danielson and David Green to the expiration of their eligibility and DeAndre Jules to the transfer portal (South Carolina). They are big, experienced men, but Bates is hopeful their replacements will be more productive.
Pitt added three transfers — ends David Ojiegbe and Nate Matlack and tackle Nick James — while welcoming back Dayon Hayes, Bam Brima and Sean FitzSimmons and moving former end Nahki Johnson inside to tackle.
“It’s kind of like the NFL now, with free agency,” he said. “You walk in, and you have some new people. We had bigger, stronger guys and (fewer) quick, athletic guys (last year). We’ll probably have better quickness at D tackle.”
There are hopes in the spring that don’t come to fruition in the summer and fall. Bates said he will postpone definitive judgements until he can see the rebuilt unit in live action. The first full scrimmage of the spring is Saturday.
“I’m excited just to see the whole group go out there without coaches in a game situation and just see what they’ll do without us with our-foot-up-their-rear-end type thing.”
Speaking for his entire defense, Bates said, “I’ll reserve judgement until after Saturday.”
