Sunday, February 23, 2025, 10:53AM |  27°
MENU
Advertisement
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi greets wide receiver Jared Wayne before taking on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
7
MORE

Peach Bowl - Pitt vs. Michigan State: Craig Meyer’s quarterly observations

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Peach Bowl - Pitt vs. Michigan State: Craig Meyer’s quarterly observations

Post-Gazette sports reporter Craig Meyer offers his thoughts on Pitt’s Peach Bowl matchup with Michigan State as the action unfolds.

Fourth quarter

● A lucky break there for Pitt. Connor Heyward didn’t step out there, as close as he came to the white paint of the sideline. The Panthers’ defensive players let up a bit once they heard the whistle blow, but given the momentum the 230-pound tight end generated there, he was going to be hard to bring down short of the end zone.

Advertisement

● Heyward ends up with a 15-yard touchdown grab over the middle on a 3rd-and-6. Ball don’t lie, I suppose.

Pitt running back Todd Sibley Jr. enters the field with offensive lineman Terrence Moore to take on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Johnny McGonigal
Pitt seniors Shocky Jacques-Louis, Todd Sibley enter the transfer portal

● Mel Tucker has been really aggressive tonight from the Michigan State sideline. The Spartans have gone for it on fourth down four times and successfully converted three times. After Heyward’s touchdown put them within five, 21-16, they opted to go for two to try to get within a field goal, even after a false start pushed them back to the seven-yard line (the attempt failed). I agree with the call in theory, but when the distance to convert on a two-point conversion is more than tripled, it might be best to just take the extra point.

● I’m kind of surprised it took until about six minutes remained in the game for Gavin Bartholomew to get his first touch. The freshman tight end has really shined at times this season and could have worked as a nice security blanket tonight for an inexperienced quarterback thrust onto a big stage. It also looked like he got the first down there, but was marked a yard short.

● What a baffling play call there for Pitt. You’re one yard from picking up a critical first down – which would burn clock, give the defense some much-needed rest and keep hope alive of making it a two-score game – and you pitch it six yards behind the line of scrimmage to your 175-pound running back?

Advertisement

● I don’t want to go so far as to say the Pitt defense looks gassed, but I certainly couldn’t blame it if it were. In the second half, the Panthers have run just 13 plays. Michigan State has run 46. Pitt has just one first down in the second half. One!

● The Spartans are four of five on third down in the fourth quarter. The most recent of those conversions, a 14-yard Jalen Nailor catch, set up a 22-yard Jayden Reed touchdown grab on the very next play.

● Absolutely gutting end for Pitt and Davis Beville. The sophomore was finally starting to piece things together, completing all five of his passes for 54 yards on the final drive and getting the Panthers in field-goal range in the final 40 seconds, but he throws a pick-six to seal things for Michigan State.

● Pitt had just 93 yards in the second half, compared to 195 for the Spartans. Michigan State also ran 49 plays to the Panthers’ 21. It’s hard, perhaps impossible, not to wonder how this game might have turned out differently had Nick Patti not been injured in the first quarter.

Pitt receivers coach Brennan Marion during 2021 training camp.
Johnny McGonigal
Pitt wide receivers coach Brennan Marion joining Texas in same role

● All in all, a tremendous season for Pitt. It falls short of becoming the second team in program history with 12 wins, but it won 11 games for the first time since 1981, produced a Heisman Trophy finalist and provided the kind of run of which most of its fans spent their entire rooting lives dreaming.

Third quarter

● From Pitt’s vantage point, this feels a whole lot like the ACC championship game. In that matchup, the Panthers couldn’t stop Wake Forest early, but the defense eventually settled in, got some stops, forced turnovers, got a score and blew the game open. We’ll see if this one turns out that way, but after that 26-yard Cam Bright scoop ‘n score, it’s trending in that direction.

● Or maybe not. Things have started to stall a bit.

● Quint Kessenich, the sideline reporter on the ESPN broadcast, said that Pitt did its bowl preparation indoors because Connor Heyward, the younger brother of Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward, plays for Michigan State and Pitt shares its South Side facility with the Steelers. I don’t know if he was being facetious, but given Pat Narduzzi’s paranoid nature, I wouldn’t be surprised.

● Tim Salem is an insane human being, even by the lofty standard of football coaches. After Pitt lost to Penn State in 2018, he returned to the office on Sunday morning and told reporters during a media session three days later that he hadn’t left the Panthers’ facility since then. That’s when he’s a tight ends coach, when he lords over a group of four or five players. I shudder to think what the past few days have been like now that he’s an offensive coordinator, even if it’s just on an interim basis.

● Another broadcasting note, since this game has slowed down quite a bit: Robert Griffin III has been excellent this season as an analyst. He seems to genuinely enjoy watching football. It’s palpable on the air. That would seem like a requirement for the job, but not nearly enough color commentators come across that way. Sports are supposed to be fun! He’s also self-deprecating at times, which I appreciate. I don’t think I could bring myself to be that way if I were him, considering how his NFL career was derailed by some factors far outside of his control.

● A pretty uneventful third quarter after that Bright touchdown. Michigan State had 32 yards in that quarter, which is a credit to the Pitt defense. The Panthers’ offense wasn’t great, either, getting just 65 yards, 28 of which came on a single Jordan Addison rush.

Second quarter

● On3 Sports is reporting that Pitt wide receivers coach Brennan Marion is set to become the new wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator at Texas. Marion is a Greensburg Salem graduate who did strong work in his first season on the Pitt staff – I don’t know how much to credit him for Jordan Addison winning the Biletnikoff Award (he was absurdly good already), but the receivers’ drop rate did improve significantly – but given some of Marion’s social media, um, activity the past couple of weeks, it appeared as though he wasn’t going to be named the Panthers’ new offensive coordinator. Marion had previously been an offensive coordinator at William & Mary and Howard, where he ran his GoGo Offense to great effect. Several NFL teams borrowed concepts of the offense to run.

● What an absurd catch from Jalen Nailor, contorting his body to bring in an off-target throw while on the run. Kenneth Walker III was obviously Michigan State’s biggest difference-maker offensively this season, but the Spartans have some dudes at the other skill positions.

● Dayon Hayes has been outstanding so far for Pitt. Two tackles for loss in the game’s first 22 minutes for the Westinghouse graduate. He had 4.5 tackles for loss in the team’s first 13 games this season. Hayes is only a sophomore, which means he has three years of eligibility left after this season, given the extra year afforded by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s another sign of the depth and talent the Panthers have amassed on the defensive line.

● Jordan Addison really has to catch that, especially given how excellent and reliable he has been all season. Because of that drop, Pitt wasted an opportunity to get its young, inexperienced quarterback some confidence and a rhythm on his third drive of the night.

● Since that touchdown drive, the Panthers have 14 yards on 13 plays across their past three drives. As the children say “Not great, Bob.”

● Well, Addison just made up for his earlier mistake there. Disregard all my previous comments.

● Davis Beville on that drive: three of three for 66 yards, capped off by a four-yard touchdown pass to Jared Wayne. Looked much more settled on that drive.

● Three of Michigan State’s final four drives of the first half – not including that final three-play sequence – ventured inside the Pitt 30. Off those drives, the Spartans got only three points. It’s a big reason why the Panthers are up four at the half after their opponent controlled much of the game’s opening 30 minutes.

First quarter

● Just a disastrous start for Pitt there as Izzy Abanikanda watches the opening kickoff bounce off the one-yard line, only for it to take a favorable bounce for Michigan State, leaving him to try to make what he could of the play, which only got him to the two-yard line. A bit similar to the Tennessee game on Sept. 11, when another special teams miscue forced the Panthers to start at their own two on their third drive of the game. Pitt fell behind early in that one, 10-0 in the first quarter, before eventually winning, 41-34.

● A beautiful play there from Michigan State. A perfectly placed pass and a great catch. Can’t really fault A.J. Woods too much there. The coverage on Jayden Reed was relatively tight. The ball was just placed right where it needed to be. Also, a Western Michigan transfer catching the game’s first touchdown pass seems like a bad omen for Pitt.

● Despite it being a three-and-out on Pitt’s first drive, Nick Patti looked strong. Had some nice poise and mobility while getting some good zip behind his throws. Both of his incompletions on that possession hit off his targets’ hands. Some good speed and shiftiness, too, whenever he opted to run. He was even better on the Panthers’ second drive, completing two of three passes for 21 yards and rushing three times for 27 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown scamper after he rolled out to his left. He looks exactly like what a team wants in this situation – an experienced signal-caller who plays to his strengths, is capable and, in some ways, resembles the player he’s replacing.

● Just as I write that, Patti is headed to the locker room. He came down hard on his left shoulder while lunging toward the pylon for that touchdown. What a bad break for Patti, who has patiently waited for an opportunity like this, only to potentially enjoy it for a couple of drives. Obviously rotten luck for his team, as well.

● Injuries like the one Patti suffered are also a perfect encapsulation of why it’s hard to blame players like Kenny Pickett or Kenneth Walker III for making the decisions they did to not play in what are effectively exhibitions. That was a routine play, but he ended it in a sling. The byproduct of a violent game.

●What a hit from Cam Bright. The Spartans weren’t getting the first down there regardless – it seemed like they were just trying to make up some of the penalty yardage they lost – but that’s an emphatic way to force them into a field-goal attempt.

● Michigan State averaged 7.4 yards per play on its first two drives. A really underwhelming start for this Pitt defense, though holding the Spartans to a field goal on the last drive was a small victory.

● The ESPN broadcast noted that interim Pitt offensive coordinator Tim Salem said the team’s play sheet “shrinks dramatically” with Davis Beville in at quarterback. A physically gifted and promising player, but much less experienced than Pickett or even Patti. The South Carolina native – a good friend of former Pitt men’s basketball player Trey McGowens – has just 14 career pass attempts across two seasons.

Craig Meyer: cmeyer@post-gazette.com and Twitter @CraigMeyer

First Published: December 31, 2021, 12:58 a.m.

RELATED
Pitt wide receiver Jared Wayne celebrates a touchdown reception with Jordan Addison against Michigan State in the second quarter of the Peach Bowl.
Paul Zeise
Paul Zeise: Despite bowl loss, Pitt's program in great shape for future
SHOW COMMENTS (25)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
1
business
Amid funding uncertainty, Pitt pauses doctoral admissions
Pirates outfielder DJ Stewart gets congratulations from teammates after his home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of the Grapefruit League season at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
2
sports
5 takeaways from Pirates' spring training victory over Orioles
A new report advises retirees in 2025 to aim for just 3.7% when withdrawing from savings -- down from 4%. Over a 30-year retirement, that could mean the difference between financial security or outliving your cash in your 80s or 90s, financial experts say.
3
business
How much can retirees safely withdraw from their nest eggs? Financial experts weigh in.
York County District Attorney Timothy J. Barker reacts during a news conference regarding the shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
4
news
Police officer killed, gunman dead in shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York
Preston Coleman, 52, was beaten and strangled inside an Aliquippa VFW on Jan. 5, 2025, in what police described as a vicious, unprovoked attack.
5
news
Bartender working at Aliquippa VFW during beating that left man unconscious facing charges
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi greets wide receiver Jared Wayne before taking on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Pitt wide receiver Tre Tipton gets pumped up before taking on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl on Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Pitt long snapper Cal Adomitis leads his team onto the field for warmups before taking on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Pitt quarterback Nick Patti greets offensive lineman Owen Drexel before taking on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
A Pitt fan watches as his team warms up before taking on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Pitt fans watch as their team warms up before taking on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi heads to the locker room as his team arrives to take on Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST sports
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story