Five takeaways from the Panthers’ loss to Louisville
A season that started with Pitt players speaking of their team’s aspirations for the College Football Playoff has spiraled out of control.
Following their bye week, the Panthers returned to action in disappointing fashion Saturday evening, losing on the road to Louisville by a final of 24-10. Before we move on to the upcoming matchup against No. 22 North Carolina, let’s revisit the brutal defeat one more time.
Here are my five takeaways from Pitt’s loss to the Cardinals.
1. It might be time to move on from Slovis
Maybe he hasn’t completely recovered from the injury he sustained against Tennessee, maybe he’s lost his confidence or maybe he just isn’t good enough. I personally don’t have the answer as to why Kedon Slovis continues to struggle under center for Pitt, but what I do know is that it might be time to start looking for answers elsewhere.
Since making his return against Rhode Island, Slovis has notably regressed each week. In each of his past two starts, the senior captain has failed to throw for over 200 yards — despite having 28 and 29 pass attempts in those games.
Against Virginia Tech, Pitt was bailed out by Israel Abanikanda’s historic performance. Matched up against a better defensive front Saturday evening, Frank Cignetti Jr.’s offense had no such luck.
Abanikanda was still very productive, rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown, but Pitt needed its quarterback to make a few throws to win the game and that just didn’t happen. As the biggest game of the season approaches, perhaps now is the time to make a change.
Narduzzi informed reporters Thursday that Nick Patti is back to full health.
The redshirt senior dressed for Saturday’s loss, although Narduzzi said after the game that subbing Patti in for Slovis wasn’t ever considered.
Narduzzi added that Slovis will remain Pitt’s starter moving forward, but does he really mean that?
With backups like Patti, who competed with Slovis for the starting job in training camp, and Nate Yarnell, who led the Panthers to a road win over Western Michigan in Week 3, the thought of giving someone else an opportunity has to have at least crossed Narduzzi’s mind, right?
Even if it has, the odds of the eighth-year head coach letting anyone know that his team will make a change under center are slim-tonone. Narduzzi is notorious for keeping personnel decisions close to the vest. Many fans are calling for something different. Will Narduzzi give them what they want? We’ll have to wait and see.
2. Abanikanda is a one-man show
Could you imagine where this offense would be without Abanikanda?
Even in a game like Saturday’s, in which Pitt only managed to tally 10 points against an average-at-best Louisville defense, the Panthers’ star tailback continued to produce at a high level. Cignetti’s play calling in late-game situations clearly shows that Abanikanda is trusted far more than Slovis. The only problem: Opposing defenses know this, as well.
How much longer can Pitt rely on its top talent to carry the rest of the offensive unit?
Abanikanda’s workload won’t likely slim down anytime soon, as Narduzzi indicated Saturday evening that both Rodney Hammond Jr. and Daniel Carter sustained injuries in the loss. Vincent Davis continues to get touches here and there, but his role within the offense has noticeably decreased over the past few seasons.
Jared Wayne and Gavin Bartholomew are a few pass catchers that have proven to be reliable for the Panthers, but without a quarterback who can consistently get them the football, they hold little value.
Abanikanda not only led Pitt in rushing, but he was also the team’s leading receiver against Louisville, catching three passes for 50 yards. In a game in which your quarterback has 29 attempts, that simply can’t happen.
If a 300-yard rushing effort from Abanikanda is what it takes for Pitt to win ACC games, then Panther fans are in for a rough November. Number 2 for the blue and gold is a special talent, but eventually teams are going to find a way to remove him from the game plan.
3. Man, does Pitt miss Jordan Addison
As we waited for Pat Narduzzi to arrive at the podium for his postgame remarks, a reporter in the media room brought forward an interesting question: What would Pitt’s record be this fall if Jordan Addison was still on the team?
While the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner can’t throw the ball to himself, his talent — along with his national notoriety — would be invaluable to Pitt’s offense at the moment. Having a weapon like Addison would not only make things easier for Slovis, but would also benefit Pitt’s greatest strength: the run game.
As previously stated, Wayne and Bartholomew have been reliable when actually used, but similar to how Slovis has failed to fill Kenny Pickett’s big shoes, the newcomer duo of Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means has come nowhere close to matching even a fraction of Addison’s production.
A lack of playmakers isn’t the primary reason Slovis has struggled, but it hasn’t helped.
Pitt’s offense lost its top two players from last year, and even after seven games, it still hasn’t found a way to adjust.
4. Pitt’s defense makes no excuses
As was the case in its loss to Georgia Tech, Pitt’s defense began to fade a bit in the fourth quarter against Louisville after delivering a stellar effort in the first three periods of play.
The Cardinals were able to take the lead with just over nine minutes remaining thanks to a fiveplay, 75-yard drive that ended with Malik Cunningham connecting with Josh Lifson for a 9-yard touchdown.
Pitt’s offense went three-and-out and turned the ball over on downs in its two possessions prior to Louisville’s go-ahead touchdown drive, which shows that yet again, the offense’s struggles are also worsening the play of the defense.
SirVocea Dennis was asked about this issue three weeks ago following Pitt’s loss to the Yellow Jackets. While he admitted he and his teammates were a bit tired late in the game, he refused to use it as an excuse.
The senior linebacker and defensive captain doubled-down on that mentality Saturday evening, when he was asked the question again.
“I think we condition for this,” Dennis said. “We get ready for this.
I think we’ve been doing it since camp. We know that at the end of the day, we’re going to be in certain situations. Yes, they keep coming up but you know, we understand that some things will happen and you have to be ready for them.”
5. Coastal division is still attainable
Believe it or not, even after the pair of ugly losses in October, Pitt still has a chance to return to the ACC title game.
Aside from North Carolina, every team in the Coastal Division has at least two losses in conference play so far.
This means a victory on the road over the Tar Heels next weekend could put the Panthers right back in the mix to defend their title.
Now, is a victory over North Carolina likely?
Considering how Pitt has looked overall in the past month, it would be fair to assume they’d enter the matchup as a long shot, but crazier road victories have taken place under Narduzzi’s tenure.
The Panthers haven’t lost backto-back games since going 0-4 in October 2020.
Last year, and so far this season, Pitt has responded to its tough showings with a sharper display the following week.
“It’s a day- by- day process,” Jared Wayne said Saturday after the loss. “We’re going to attack every week the same. This is a very good football team, I’ll say that.”
Narduzzi’s squad will need that and then some if it hopes to rebound well enough to beat the Tar Heels in what will unquestionably be the team’s biggest game of the year.