‘Relentless’ front 4 was impressive

Retooled defensive line kept up pressure

Jaylen Twyman waved his arms wildly as he hobbled off the Heinz Field turf, pleading for noise from the Pitt student section. As if he didn’t do enough to set off the crowd seconds earlier.

Pitt clung to a one-point lead over then-No. 15ranked Central Florida when Twyman stood up Knights guard Cole Schneider on third-and-13, swatted the 312-pounder to the side and wrestled quarterback Dillon Gabriel to the grass as he tried to escape the pocket. Twyman, the Panthers’ budding star at defensive tackle, couldn’t be out on the field for UCF’s hookand-ladder prayer. But he had done his job. Really, Pitt’s entire pass rush did.

UCF’s quick-strike offense received deserved praise in the buildup to Saturday. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi called the Knights “explosive” earlier in the week, and a significant reason why was their prowess in protection. Through three games this year, UCF allowed one sack. In 2017, when the Knights burst onto the scene and dubbed themselves national champions, they allowed 13 sacks in as many games.

But they failed to keep Gabriel upright against Pitt’s front four.

“There was all kinds of pressure,” Narduzzi said of his pass rush, which logged six sacks. “We needed a relentless effort out of those guys, and our guys just kept coming back.”

When Rashad Weaver and Keyshon Camp went down with season-ending knee injuries, questions surrounded the depth of Pitt’s defensive line. That’s no longer a concern.

Patrick Jones had a sack on UCF’s opening drive and combined with Deslin Alexandre, Weaver’s replacement, for another to open the Knights’ final series. Habakkuk Baldonado, Pitt’s primary reserve defensivve end, took down Gabriel once. And then, of course, Twyman came up with his seismic stop as the seconds ticked toward a Pitt upset. Twyman now has 5.5 sacks this season.

Blitzing linebackers helped out Saturday; it was Saleem Brightwell’s pressure that forced Gabriel’s first interception, after all. But the defensive line, injuries be damned, was perhaps Pitt’s most reliable unit through three games. That continued in Week 4.

Injury report

Pitt’s lucky it has Delaware Saturday and not an ACC opponent. Because it wouldn’t be a shock to see a player or two miss the contest.

Redshirt senior wide receiver Tre Tipton definitely won’t play against the Blue Hens. He might be out for the season with a lower leg injury, per Narduzzi. “We’re still evaluating that, and we’ll see,” the coach added. “He’s got to make some decisions.”

It should be noted that middle linebacker Elias Reynolds, who started against Virginia and Penn State, did not play against UCF, either.

And during the game, Pitt picked up some knocks. The following players had to at least leave the game for a brief period due to injury: Alexandre, Twyman, quarterback Kenny Pickett, wide receivers Maurice Ffrench and Dontavius Butler-Jenkins, cornerbacks Damarri Mathis and Jason Pinnock, linebacker Kylan Johnson and defensive tackle Amir Watts.

Mathis and Pinnock, two of Pitt’s three starting corners, were not in for UCF’s last-ditch drive. Ffrench’s left knee was twisted on a fourth-quarter catch, but he returned. So did Pickett (shoulder), Butler-Jenkins, Watts and Johnson.

As for those who weren’t in there at the end, it would be an issue if Pitt went without Mathis and/or Pinnock for more than a game. Both have played exceptionally well through four games.

Quotable

“It’s a special moment. They don’t come often. I’ve got a lot of love and respect for the people who stayed and stuck it out. I saw a lot of people leaving early, which [upset] all of us ... a little bit, that our own fans were leaving early. But it is what it is,” Pickett said on the home crowd Saturday at Heinz Field.