As Pitt prepped to play Virginia last week, one stat in particular made the rounds: Cavaliers quarterback Bryce Perkins and Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray were the only two FBS players in 2018 with more than 2,500 passing yards, 900 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns accounted for. An interesting figure, one that brought to light Perkins' play-making ability and what the Panthers faced.
But if those stat qualifications loosened up ever so slightly — down to, say, 2,400 passing yards and 850 on the ground — one more quarterback would fit the description: Ohio's Nathan Rourke.
That's right. Pitt's defense has to go up against the two most productive, returning dual-threat quarterbacks in college football. In back-to-back weeks.
"Their offense starts with Nathan Rourke. Phenomenal football player," Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. "He's accurate. He's smart. He makes good decisions. I like what I see out of him. ... He's a baller."
A baller who's going to test Pitt's secondary.
Rourke is an accomplished quarterback entering his third year as Ohio's starter. His 156.3 passer rating in 2018 ranked 14th-best nationally, ahead of Stanford's K.J. Costello, Notre Dame's Ian Book, Michigan's Shea Patterson and Missouri's Drew Lock, to name a few. Rourke's completion percentage wasn’t been the best (55.1% in 2017, 60% in 2018), but his 40-to-15 TD-to-INT ratio over those two seasons shows fine decision-making.
Rourke's legs, of course, are a problem, too. His 21 touchdown rushes led all quarterbacks in 2017. His 6.42 yards per carry in 2018 ranked second among QBs, behind Murray, and outpaced eight of the first nine running backs selected in the 2019 NFL draft.
But hey, for the most part, Pitt's defense prevented Perkins (18 carries, 44 yards) from taking off last weekend. If the loss of Keyshon Camp to season-ending injury isn't too much to bear — Amir Watts should fill in adequately at defensive tackle — the Panthers' front-seven could keep Rourke in front.
The onus, then, falls on Pitt's secondary. Which, aside from a few pass interference penalties, held up against Perkins.
"We play with a lot of juice and a lot of energy," Pitt safety Paris Ford said of the secondary on Wednesday. "That's what you guys saw flashes of. But you haven't seen nothing yet. Trust me."
The Panthers didn't force any turnovers against Virginia, which safety Damar Hamlin emphasized in his post-game interview. But those flashes Ford mentioned were enough to generate attention — enough to consider how good Pitt's secondary can be. Hamlin led the team with seven tackles. Cornerback Damarri Mathis, who started over Jason Pinnock, had back-to-back pass breakups. Dane Jackson added a PBU with his five tackles. And Pinnock chipped in three solo stops.
Now, Perkins did have six completions of 10 yards or more. And the Panthers' defensive backs committed three pass interference penalties. But Pitt secondary coach Andre Collins will live with that.
"That's the referee's job," Collins said smiling when asked about the PI calls. "All we're going to do is play physical through guys, through the route they run. That's what we can control is covering those guys and making a tight window for the quarterback."
Holding Perkins to 181 yards on 34 attempts, Pitt's defensive backs did that in Week 1. They'll need to do it in Week 2, as well.
Rourke — a former two-star prospect, a kid with two FBS offers — shouldn't be overlooked.
Narduzzi said Monday that "the story of the Mid-American (Conference)" is developing those kinds of quarterbacks into productive, reliable signal-callers. Narduzzi mentioned Ben Roethlisberger, the two-time Super Bowl winner from Miami (Ohio), but there are others, too. Northern Illinois' Jordan Lynch, Toledo's Bruce Gradkowski and Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour come to mind.
"Those two-star guys, those one-star guys develop into players. And they play enough years and they play within the system and don't try to do too much," Narduzzi said. "It just goes to show you, those stars ... don't really matter. (Rourke's) a football player."
A player that has Pitt's defense, specifically the secondary, on high alert for the second week in a row.
John McGonigal: jmcgonigal@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jmcgonigal9
First Published: September 5, 2019, 1:17 p.m.
