In the midst of Pitt’s two-week stretch of misery, a streak of positivity could emerge Saturday at Acrisure Stadium when the Panthers meet No. 20 Clemson.
Every year from 2016-2023, Pitt has defeated at least one nationally ranked opponent, ranging from second-ranked Clemson and Miami in 2016 and 2017 to No. 25 Virginia in 2018.
The exception under coach Pat Narduzzi is 2015 — his first season — when Pitt lost to No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 21 Navy. That computes to an overall record of 9-22 against the perceived best teams in college football, according to their rankings at kickoff.
Pitt (7-2, 3-2 ACC) is playing three ranked opponents in 22 days this month, starting with the 48-25 loss to No. 14 SMU on Nov. 2, followed by Clemson (7-2, 6-1) on Saturday and No. 19 Louisville (6-3, 4-2) on Nov. 23.
While Pitt prepares to mix it up against top competition, linebacker Brian George wants to remind everyone, “We can’t overlook the fact that we are a good football team.”
“We’re 7-2 and so is our opponent. At the end of the day, our record doesn’t matter because we need to go 1-0 this week.”
With three games to play, Pitt’s season can go in four distinctly different directions — 7-5 (ouch!), 8-4 (overall, not bad), 9-3 (reversal from last year), 10-2 (third double-digit victory total in 43 years).
As he usually does, George said it best: “Every game is an opportunity to show you belong where you are. You weren’t a pretender.”
1. What about Clemson?
There is a lot of talk around the nation about Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s reluctance to dive into the transfer portal and what it means to his national championship hopes.
Clemson has no transfers in its two-deep depth chart and is one of four schools (Army, Navy and Air Force) that did not take a transfer in the most recent cycle.
We’ll never know for sure if it’s a cause-and-effect situation, but since Clemson most recently qualified for the College Football Playoff after its sixth consecutive appearance on Jan. 1, 2021, the Tigers have lost 12 games to power conference teams in four seasons, including a 34-3 opening-day loss this year to Georgia.
But Clemson is 7-1 since that game, thanks to a balanced offense, big, physical lines on both sides of the ball and a total of only five turnovers in nine games.
”Our D tackles had better hang in there,” Narduzzi said, “because these dudes (offensive linemen) are going to double-team you and try and hang you on the goal post up front.”
Quarterback Cade Klubnik has thrown for 2,275 yards, 24 touchdowns and four interceptions. Running back Phil Mafah (6-foot-1, 223 pounds) is second in the ACC with 981 yards rushing.
Narduzzi said the Tigers will be a serious test for his players — and their hopes for the future.
“Everybody has the ambitions of playing in the National Football League,” he said. “We’ll see what you got against Clemson. Maybe the best football team we’ve played this year. I shouldn’t say maybe. They are.”
2. Time to let Louis loose?
It won’t be easy against an experienced offensive line, but the best way to disrupt Clemson’s offense may be to make Klubnik uncomfortable. But Clemson has allowed only 12 sacks in nine games.
Perhaps making more frequent use of linebacker Kyle Louis’ speed will help. Louis and defensive end Jimmy Scott share the team lead with five sacks, but dropping Louis into coverage isn’t a bad idea, either. He is fifth in the nation with four interceptions — first among FBS linebackers — and the first Pitt linebacker with four since Malcolm Postell in 2004. Linebacker Sal Sunseri had five in 1980.
3. Safeties hold the key
Confronted by Clemson’s productive pass game, Pitt won’t win without a solid day from safeties Donovan McMillon, Javon McIntyre and P.J. O’Brien.
McMillon is one of eight Pitt players with one interception each, but safeties coach Cory Sanders said the Peters Township graduate’s value goes beyond splash plays.
“If you really watch the intracacies of Donovan, you really realize how good of a football player he is,” Sanders said. “No, he’s not out there with five interceptions. He’s very reliable. Great eye discipline.”
McMillon leads the team with 77 tackles — one more than Louis — and he made an impressive stop against Virginia when he shed three blockers to stop a screen pass.
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“The kid shows up. He works,” Sanders said. “He gets all his extra work in in the classroom. It brings guys along with him.”
Meanwhile, Sanders revealed an interesting stat on McIntyre’s resume. Coaches want defensive backs to keep their completion percentage under 33%. McIntyre is at 22%. “He’s done a very good job in his one-on-ones,” the coach said.
4. Delay of game?
By definition, Pitt’s hurry-up offense should eliminate delay of game penalties. But Pitt was hit with one Saturday.
“I’ll take (the blame on) that one,” offensive coordinator Kade Bell said. “We had a play call on and I wanted to change protection for (quarterback Nate Yarnell) and, obviously, at 15 seconds (the speaker system from sideline to quarterback) goes off.”
While Bell tried to get Yarnell’s attention, the play clock expired.
“He’s got to also look at the clock and run up there and get it changed,” Bell said. “We actually worked on that (this week in practice).”
Also by definition, an offense that sputters has a difficult time moving quickly between plays.
“You can’t go fast when you’re getting negative plays and penalties,” Bell said. “The clock stops. You’re backed up on the sticks. You don’t want to put the quarterback in a bad situation by going fast. Sometimes, we’re not playing as fast because we’re trying to help the quarterback out a little bit with all the different coverages we’re getting.”
5. Hammond in 2025?
Running back Rodney Hammond, who was suspended for the first four games and played as a reserve in the next four, would be eligible for a redshirt if he does not appear in any more games. Narduzzi said that’s a possible means of bringing Hammond back next season.
“We’re not just going to put him in there just to put him in there,” he said.