WILL STEELERS OFFENSE HEAT UP FOR WEEK 2?
Pitt had chances to win the game but Narduzzi’s call to kick FG questioned
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Pitt had its chance. No, not the 40-yard desperation pass by Kenny Pickett that fell harmlessly incomplete as the clock hit zero, offering Penn State fans relief and Pitt supporters grief Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium.
No, the Panthers’ chance came with five minutes left in regulation. Down by seven points, facing a fourth-and-goal at the Nittany Lions 1, Pitt needed 12 inches (and an extra point) to tie the rivalry’s 100th meeting. Twelve inches to put the pressure on Penn State, to take a seismic step toward pulling off a stunning upset as 17-point underdogs.
But in a one-possession game as the seconds ticked away, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi called for a 19-yard fieldgoal attempt. Alex Kessman missed the chip shot, but that’s not
really the point. Narduzzi’s decision — trying to turn a one-possession game into, well, a one-possession game — confused everyone from Twitter trolls to those sitting in the silver bleachers.
That decision is what everyone will remember from the final Pitt-Penn State game for the foreseeable future, a 17-10 Panthers loss in front of 108,661 fans. And, interestingly, it’s a decision that Narduzzi said he won’t question or second-guess.
“It was a two-possession game. You need two scores,” Narduzzi said. “The field goal was a good play, and then you come back and score again. You can go back and question the fourthand-1, go for it or not go for it. Go for it and you don’t get it, it’s like, why didn’t you kick the field goal? You needed two scores to win the football game, and that’s what it comes down to. You need two scores.”
Eventually. But some would ask, why not get seven points, tie the score and almost ensure overtime?
“No,” Narduzzi said about the prospects of playing for extra football. “I wanted to play to win the football game. It’s a two-possession game.”
But technically, it was a one-possession game.
If taking a lead and trusting the defense is the plan, wouldn’t a 2-point conversion after a fourth-down touchdown get the job done? Especially as a 17-point underdog on the road, a team with nothing to lose?
“Yep,” Narduzzi said. “We could do a lot of those things.”
Regardless, it’s not as if the fourthand-goal was Pitt’s only chance at seven points. Taysir Mack’s crowddeafening 29-yard catch had set the Panthers up with a first-and-goal at the 1. In retrospect, it’s easy to suggest three consecutive quarterback sneaks.
To be fair, two of Pitt’s three plays from the 1 nearly worked. On second down, Pickett’s read-option keeper would have been good for six had running back Todd Sibley picked up Penn State linebacker Jesse Luketa or safety Garrett Taylor. On third down, Pickett had A.J. Davis in the flat had he let the play-action pass go a splitsecond earlier.
“When we got down there, we thought we could get in with those three plays,” Narduzzi said. “We had three plays.” Could have had four, though. Instead, Narduzzi took the ball out of the hands of Pickett, who had a career day for the second week in a row. Pickett threw for 372 yards, completing 35 of 51 passes.
Pickett extended plays with his legs to beat Penn State’s secondary. His offensive line protected him early, not so much late. But No. 8 maintained his poise, even linking up with tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart for a 36-yard gain on fourth-and-1 at Pitt’s 43 with 11 minutes to go. Pickett said it was encouraging to get the nod.
“Players, we’re all the ones saying, ‘Let’s go for it,’” the quarterback added. “We all have confidence in every single one of them, all my guys. I love them.”
When asked if he pushed to go for it later that drive — on fourth-and-goal from Penn State’s 1 — Pickett shrugged. “As a competitor you’re always going to want it. But I play, they coach, you guys report. It is what it is.”
Across the sideline, Penn State coach James Franklin actually understood Narduzzi’s choice. “The decision they made was making sure they get points. They started at the 1-yard line and were going backward. If they get points at that time, then the next time they get the ball, a touchdown wins the game,” Franklin told reporters. “They had confidence in their defense that they would stop us and get back on the field.”
And that is what Pitt’s defense did. The unit, led by Paris Ford’s activity in the back-end and Jaylen Twyman’s disruption up front, got the ball back for Pickett, stopping Sean Clifford and the Nittany Lions when they snared possession following Kessman’s missed kick.
And, ultimately, Pickett had that desperation past to the end zone.