Pitt receiver Zach Challingsworth equaled his career high with three receptions Saturday, but it was the way he went about it that most impressed coach Pat Narduzzi.
“He’s made catches you and me could make, but [Saturday] he made some catches you and me had no business [making]. Those are tough catches,” Narduzzi said.
All three of Challingsworth’s receptions came on third down, and the first was a touchdown in the first quarter to put the Panthers up, 7-0.
“He made plays and I think it gives him a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season here,” Narduzzi said.
Challingsworth caught three passes for 57 yards and a score, and fellow receiver Dontez Ford added three catches for 35 yards and one touchdown. Together, they took some pressure off star receiver Tyler Boyd, who has been the Panthers’ only viable downfield passing threat for most of this season.
Boyd has accounted for 42 percent of Pitt’s receptions, but had just three catches — 23 percent — in Saturday’s win.
“They made the mistake of still trying to double Tyler, and that gave us the opportunity to make more plays,” Ford said.
Ford’s 35 yards were actually his fourth-lowest output of the season, but he found the end zone for the first time this year. As Pitt still works to get out of its shell in the downfield passing game, he’s optimistic the Panthers are turning a corner.
“I feel like it just opens it up in a bunch of different aspects,” Ford said. “We’re able to run the ball better when we’re spreading the ball around to other receivers. It makes the defense play us honestly.”
Toughened up
After the win Saturday against Duke, Narduzzi called it the most complete game his team has played this season. Monday, he added that it was also their toughest.
“I pretty much questioned our guys’ toughness, how tough they would be,” Narduzzi said. “We were going to find out who the toughest team was, and I think our kids came out and played with great toughness, maybe the most toughness they’ve had this year.”
He specifically pointed to linebacker Quintin Wirginis’ tackle on the opening kickoff, which stopped Duke at its 19-yard line, as a play that set the tone for the rest of the game.
“We had to go down there with a little bit of extra toughness,” Narduzzi said. “Our kids understood from the opening kickoff, Wirginis makes that big hit, that’s something we’ve got to bring even more of every weekend.”
Thumbs up for DT depth
After labeling their performance against Notre Dame two weeks ago as “just OK,” Narduzzi said he was pleased with the performance Saturday of reserve defensive tackles Jeremiah Taleni and Justin Moody.
They combined for just one tackle, and Moody just missed an interception, but Narduzzi praised their efforts.
“If you watch tape, they did a nice job,” he said.
He added that with Darryl Render, K.K. Mosley-Smith and Mark Scarpinato graduating from the position this year, it’ll be nice to have some returning experience to count on next season.
“They’re going to be good players that can come in the ACC and help us win football games,” Narduzzi said. “I was happy with where they were coming out of there.”
More accolades
Two Pitt players were honored by the ACC for their performances at Duke.
Linebacker Mike Caprara won the league’s linebacker of the week award, while freshman safety Jordan Whitehead was named ACC rookie of the week for the third time.
Caprara had eight tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup Saturday. He had a sack and the fumble recovery on Duke’s final drive to help seal the win.
Whitehead, who also won rookie of the week last week, had a team-high nine tackles and a fourth-quarter interception. He also had 38 yards on four carries.
Another early start
Pitt’s regular season finale against Nov. 27 against Miami will kick off at noon, the ACC announced. The game will air on WTAE or ESPN2.
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG.
First Published: November 17, 2015, 2:46 a.m.