Once the alma mater and celebratory chants had stopped, a postgame rumble had been narrowly avoided and Pitt’s players retreated to their jubilant Acrisure Stadium locker room, many on the offensive side came up to coach Pat Narduzzi and apologized.
Against arguably the Panthers’ most bitter rival.
In a game Pitt trailed in the fourth quarter.
“We have great kids,” Narduzzi said.
The way Pitt felt about its offensive performance after one of the more enjoyable Pittsburgh moments in recent history — Thursday’s Backyard Brawl was played before a city-record 70,622 — spoke volumes for not only where things currently stand but also where this group could be headed if progress is made.
If chemistry is created and honed, key details are fixed and the highlights produced against the Mountaineers remain.
“We have a lot of things to clean up,” Narduzzi said. “Openers are like that, regardless of who we play. We did some stuff out there that doesn’t make me happy, but the great thing is you get a win and you make your biggest improvements between Week 1 and Week 2. We’ll make those.”
It’s almost too easy after a 4-hour, 6-minute game that featured nearly as many video reviews as points scored to go back and check the tape, but that’s exactly what we’re going to do here, starting with the quarterback, the position that was front and center for a few different reasons on Thursday.
For one, the old guy. Kenny Pickett at one point was standing on the rotunda, looking for a split second like the Steelers quarterback might’ve been shafted with standing-room-only seats. Um, no. He was actually there to drop a banner commemorating Pitt’s ACC title, the rectangular remembrance drawing serious applause and chants of “Kenny! Kenny!”
Pickett had texted his successor, Kedon Slovis, on Wednesday night. He also visited with Pitt players and coaches on the sideline before the game, exhorting the current group to do whatever it takes to bring home a victory.
Who knew they would take Pickett so darn literally?
Slovis, the USC transfer who beat out Nick Patti during training camp for the No. 1 gig, ran the gamut with his performance, completing 16 of 24 passes for 308 yards and a touchdown. On a first-quarter field goal drive, Slovis was surgical. Jared Wayne for 20 yards. Crossing route to Konata Mumpfield for 15. A nifty scamper. Bub Means for 15 more.
Then, Slovis got confused or flustered or something and took a sack. His longer-than-preferred release time became a consistent theme for this one. At no point was that more noticeable than in the fourth quarter, when Pitt fell behind and tried to operate out of the no-huddle.
Two more late reads, two more sacks. A 4th-and-30 loomed. Yes, 30. Slovis looked confused and potentially reeling.
“I thought he was a little late with the ball at times,” Narduzzi said. “Don’t like the sacks. We’ll look at that.”
Also maybe examine whatever it was that got Slovis cranked up again on the Panthers’ next drive and try to replicate it. Helped along by a targeting call on WVU’s Wesley McCormick, Slovis found his timing and accuracy. Shockingly, he even found something called a tight end, as Pitt noticed Gavin Bartholomew was playing with about 5 minutes left.
Three consecutive Slovis completions carried the Panthers to a touchdown, with Israel Abanikanda deftly weaving his way through traffic. M.J. Devonshire’s pick-6 left Pitt with plenty to evaluate — while carrying a 1-0 record into next week.
How to get the ball out quicker, sure, but also how to leverage some of the shiftiness Pitt’s pass-catchers showed.
“There are always times, first game of the year as an offense, where you kind of find your identity and what you’re doing,” Slovis said. “I’m not really worried about us finding that or finding a rhythm. I think we found it toward the end of the game.”
What happened Thursday was also beautifully imperfect on the running side of things, where Pitt returned five starters up front and failed to get a consistent enough push in the running game. West Virginia ran for 190 yards to Pitt’s 76. A line of scrimmage loss, for this team, should not be that lopsided.
Abanikanda had a gorgeous catch and run for the game-tying touchdown but netted only 15 yards on eight carries, a paltry sum for the back who entered the Brawl as No. 1 on the depth chart. Into his place stepped Rodney Hammond Jr., a “bull” of a sophomore who wound up with 74 yards and a pair of scores on 16 carries.
“I feel like I had a lot of steam built up,” Hammond said. “Going against my defense every day, it’s tough. They prepared me for the first game. I’m looking forward to going the rest of the season.”
It’s a sentiment that should be echoed across that side of the ball, where Pitt was hit hardest with the departures of Pickett and Jordan Addison. The good news is Mumpfield, Wayne and Means hardly looked out of place; it’s enticing to think how the narrative of this one might’ve shifted had Means hauled in a pass on 2nd-and-8 with about 12½ minutes to go in the third quarter.
It’ll also be neat to see what this offense looks like when Bartholomew is no longer grounded and the Panthers get to settle into a more normal game-day environment, one where it’s easier to hear yourself think and there doesn’t seem to be so much riding on every play.
Come to think of it: Much of what Pitt encountered was what Slovis dealt with when handed a microphone at a pep rally on Wednesday, the signal caller getting carried away with his language and delivering a dig Mountaineers players surely used as motivation.
You know, the f-bomb.
“Yeah, I kinda want to address that,” Slovis sheepishly said after this one. “I didn’t mean any disrespect to the other team. I was just trying to have fun and get the fans fired up. It’s an exciting rivalry. They say their stuff about us, too. Again, just trying to feed into the rivalry a little bit.”
No apology necessary, Kedon. Certainly not with a win, nor with the seeds that seemingly were planted on the offensive side of the ball.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: September 2, 2022, 10:00 a.m.