DURHAM, N.C. — Paris Ford committed to Pitt almost four years ago to the day. The Steel Valley grad, Under Armour All-American and blue-chip recruit verbally pledged to the Panthers on Oct. 15, 2015, and ever since, expectations of what the WPIAL standout could do for his hometown program grew.
Well, 480 miles away from Oakland, Ford turned in the breakout performance Pitt fans had anticipated for 1,451 days.
Ford's ball-hawking potential materialized on Tobacco Road with two interceptions, including a pick-six, his first-ever takeaway in a Pitt uniform. Ford also guided the Panthers with 12 tackles (eight solo), pushing his team-leading total to 45 stops — 14 more than the next-closest Panther, best friend Damar Hamlin.
"He plays with a lot of passion," senior cornerback Dane Jackson said postgame. "He gives us energy out there on the field, and we trust him to make those plays."
Ford's emotions were definitely worn on his sleeve Saturday night.
When he picked off Duke's Quentin Harris and took it to the house, he showed off his dance moves. When he muffed a third-quarter punt, leading to a Blue Devil touchdown, he put his head in his hands. And when he was ejected for targeting — a questionable officiating decision as Duke wideout Scott Bracey seemed to lower his helmet into Ford's shoulder — the safety had to be held back and ushered to Pitt's visiting locker room.
"All I sincerely did was try to hype my brothers up after I was ejected," Ford tweeted postgame. "Nothing more nothing less." The safety — who will miss the first half of Pitt's game at Syracuse on Oct. 18 — was not made available to reporters.
However, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi had something to say about Ford.
Narduzzi took the blame for putting No. 12 in a precarious punt-return situation. It was the first time Ford was back to receive a punt all season. And while the playmaker scored 22 touchdowns five different ways as a senior at Steel Valley, tasking him with safely securing a kick inside Pitt's own 10-yard line was a risk.
"I was just like, ‘Put Paris in the game, give him a shot, he’s been begging for a shot for weeks.’ I gave him a shot," the coach said. "That’s on me. I made that decision and it backfired on us."
When asked if he received an explanation on Ford's targeting call, Narduzzi simply said, "No."
"We’ll look at the tape," Narduzzi said earlier of Pitt's 15 penalties. "We’ll turn our plays in and go through the ACC protocol. It doesn’t seem to help but we’ll send them in."
Regardless, when Narduzzi and his staff put on the tape Sunday to review the Panthers’ 33-30 win, they’ll see Ford all over the field.
Patrick star
The away team setup at Wallace Wade Stadium is somewhat odd. The visiting locker room is more than 100 yards away from the venue, positioned behind the Blue Devils' practice field, which sits beneath the stadium’s south end zone.
When the clock hit zero, some Panthers ran down the 100-yard asphalt walkway in celebration to the locker room. Defensive end Patrick Jones? He walked.
"I was tired," he said laughing. He was pretty active.
Jones, a week removed from hurrying Delaware quarterback Nolan Henderson four times, got home on Saturday. The redshirt junior strip-sacked Harris twice — once in the third quarter, leading to a touchdown, and again to ice the game on Duke's final drive.
Jones, Pitt's top reserve pass-rusher in 2018, was always set to start this season. And after defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman garnered the publicity through Pitt's first five games, Jones commanded attention in Durham.
"We're QBK," Jones said, when asked about creating two turnovers. "We pride ourselves on getting after the quarterback."
What's "QBK"?
"Quarterback killers," Jones said. Fair enough.
Receiver rapport
• Maurice Ffrench's 10 receptions tied a career high, which he set against Ohio. But the senior wasn't nearly as effective as he was Week 2. Ffrench had only 54 yards with a long of 11, his work primarily coming on passes around the line of scrimmage. The speedster also had a third-down drop on Pitt's opening drive, which would've gone for a first and set the Panthers up in field-goal range at the very least. Missed opportunity early on.
• Two Pitt players made their first receptions of the season: Shocky Jacques-Louis and Jared Wayne. Jacques-Louis, whose impact has been lesser than some expected, had two grabs for 20 yards, including a six-yard gain on Pitt's final drive. Wayne, a true freshman, laid out for a 17-yard catch on a third-and-14 in the second quarter.
• Taysir Mack is on a heater. Mack — whose 511 receiving yards ranks second in the ACC and 13th nationally — has 421 in his last four games. The former Indiana transfer has been especially effective against man coverage.
He bodied Penn State's corners back in Week 3 and did the same in Durham, hauling in a 19-yard touchdown going one-on-one with cornerback Leonard Johnson. When asked about his connection with Mack when facing man-to-man coverage, Pickett smiled.
"We've practiced so many times those throws," the quarterback said. "I feel like I can throw them blindfolded with my relationship with him."
Special teams tidbits
• Placekicker Alex Kessman had another up-and-down day. He made field goals of 38 and 43 yards, but shanked an extra point — just his fourth-ever missed PAT (89 for 93 on his career). Kessman is now 6 for 12 on field-goal tries this year.
• Kessman’s holder and starting punter Kirk Christodoulou had another fine day. The Aussie had three punts of 50-plus yards and three pinned inside the 20-yard line. Christodoulou’s opening punt — a touchback, his first of the year — would have been pinned at the 5-yard line if not for Duke returner Josh Blackwell selling a fake fair catch, halting Pitt’s gunners.
• Just this week special teams coordinator Andre Powell explained that the return game was close to ripping off a big gain. "Any day now we may split one," Powell said. That day was Saturday.
Ffrench broke loose on a 50-yard, weaving punt return at the tail end of the second quarter. It set up Mack's 19-yard score, which gave Pitt a 19-3 lead entering halftime.
In Pitt’s previous five games, Ffrench had only 49 yards on 14 punt returns.
• Former Penn State safety John Petrishen made his Pitt debut, blocking on Ffrench’s return. The Central Catholic grad missed the first five weeks after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.
Ground game
• Todd Sibley, on the back of a 106-yard performance vs. Delaware, should be pleased with the two-week stretch he's had. The preseason co-starter had 60 yards on 12 carries, not crazy numbers by any means. But he opened the second half with a 25-yard run. Then the Panthers went away from him — giving the redshirt sophomore five carries over Pitt's final 31 plays. Whatever Pitt did worked in the end, but Sibley probably deserved more touches.
• Redshirt freshman Jake Kradel played in place of Gabe Houy at right guard during the second half and did well, springing Sibley on that long run. It's unclear if Kradel taking over was performance-based or due to injury. Houy was flagged for two penalties (holding, false start) in the first half.
Did you know?
Nakia Griffin-Stewart's third-quarter touchdown catch was the first by a Pitt tight end in 20 games. The last one to find the end zone? Nathan Bossory, against Virginia Tech on Nov. 18, 2017.
Injury update
The upcoming off week should help the wounded Panthers.
Narduzzi said postgame that running backs A.J. Davis and Vincent Davis are expected to play at Syracuse after missing Pitt’s last two games. A.J. Davis traveled to Durham and warmed up pregame. The younger Davis did not make the trip.
When asked if linebackers Chase Pine and Elias Reynolds — who have missed the last two and three games, respectively — would be good to go, Narduzzi said, “I sure hope so.”
"First half of the season is over, we get a rest period, which we desperately need," Narduzzi added. "We'll be as healthy as we've been all year [at Syracuse]."
John McGonigal: jmcgonigal@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jmcgonigal9.
First Published: October 6, 2019, 3:08 p.m.