Following back-to-back ugly showings, Pat Narduzzi’s offense came to play early Saturday evening. But while things were, for a moment, much better compared to recent appearances, the improvement was nowhere near enough to keep up with the opposition’s scoring efforts.
Led by All-American quarterback Drake Maye, No. 17 North Carolina cruised to a smooth victory against Pitt at Acrisure Stadium, coming out on top by a final score of 41-24.
“That was a tough ballgame against a really good football team,” Narduzzi said after the loss. “Drake Maye is a great football player. Regardless of what coverage we threw at him, the guy seemed to make a lot of plays. ... We had our opportunities. My observation from the sideline is that our kids played hard and never quit.”
Unlike their first three opening drives this season, which resulted in a combined three points, the Panthers (1-3, 0-1 ACC) came out firing against the Tar Heels (4-0, 3-0), marching 78 yards down the field on 13 plays, the final being a 7-yard touchdown run by Rodney Hammond Jr.
But after killing nearly eight minutes of game clock, North Carolina needed just 3:38 to respond with a touchdown of its own, coming on a 3-yard run from Omarion Hampton. The Panthers and Tar Heels traded touchdowns once again early in the second quarter on a pair of respective 1-yard rushes from Daniel Carter and Maye.
Leading the charge for Pitt was Phil Jurkovec, who, after receiving calls from fans to be benched throughout the week, opened the game by completing his first seven pass attempts.
However, as Pitt’s progress began to slow, North Carolina’s momentum continued to build. After suffering a 21-yard loss on a sack on third down midway through the second quarter, Pitt punted the ball away to North Carolina. That punt resulted in a 52-yard touchdown return by Alijah Huzzie, which gave the Tar Heels a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Although Pitt answered with a 44-yard field goal from Ben Sauls, Maye and company had more to offer. The reigning ACC Player of the Year delivered his best touchdown pass yet with 2:31 left in the first half, connecting with Kobe Paysour on an 8-yard score that he threw left-handed.
“It just shows how great he really is,” sixth-year senior defensive tackle and team captain David Green said. “He’s a great quarterback. He’s going to have a long future ahead of him.”
With less than a minute remaining in the second quarter, Pitt elected to keep its offense on the field. That decision not only failed to produce points but also resulted in the Panthers losing their starting quarterback. A big hit from Tayon Holloway on 3rd-and-long knocked Jurkovec out of the game with an undisclosed injury. He finished the evening with 11 completions on 15 attempts for 109 yards passing, along with 29 yards rushing on five carries.
Narduzzi was unwilling to disclose much of any information on Jurkovec’s injury status following the loss, other than that he isn’t in concussion protocol. Narduzzi said he was proud of how Jurkovec played in the game’s opening half, and his players echoed that sentiment.
“His effort was phenomenal today,” sixth-year senior guard Blake Zubovic said. “I thought he played a great first half. It’s tragic what happened to him. ... I think, mentally, he’s doing pretty good. I don’t know what his injury is or how much time he will miss, but he’s a fighter, man. I know he’s going to do everything he can to get back on the field with us.”
As Pitt failed to find its footing without Jurkovec, North Carolina continued to roll. The Tar Heels offense tallied 13 more points in the third quarter thanks to another 1-yard touchdown rush from Maye and a pair of field goals from Noah Burnette. Pitt true freshman Kenny Johnson gave the Panthers a bit of life with a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown, but the Panthers failed to generate anything else. Neither team tallied a point in the final 15 minutes of action.
Christian Veilleux completed 8 passes on 19 attempts for 88 yards and was intercepted twice after taking over for Jurkovec in the third quarter. Maye, meanwhile, finished the game with a clean stat line of 22 completions on 30 attempts for 296 yards and a touchdown, plus his two rushing scores.
Key stat: When facing an opponent as talented as North Carolina, mental mistakes must be limited. That simply wasn’t the case for the Panthers, who committed 11 penalties, which added up to a total of 83 yards.
“From my observation, there were some calls that were made that I didn’t really care for,” Narduzzi said. “I’ve seen it go both ways, and Pitt got called for them today. That’s on us.”
Quotable: After answering the final question in his postgame press conference, Narduzzi stuck around to give a message to his team’s student section and fanbase.
“I thought the Panther Pitt was great,” Narduzzi said. “That was an electric atmosphere. They did a very good job again, and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate all the fans out there. That Panther Pitt was loud. They’re unbelievable. I wish we could’ve got this win, especially for them. But we will be back. There is no quit in that locker room. Let me just tell you: They’re upset. We’ll fix stuff, and we’re going to come back.”
Up next: Pitt will look to turn things around next weekend as it hits the road to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech. Like the Panthers, the Hokies (1-3) lost their third straight contest Saturday night, falling 24-17 to Marshall in non-conference play. Pitt’s contest against Virginia Tech will kick off at 8 p.m. and will be televised on the ACC Network.
Noah Hiles: nhiles@post-gazette.com and Twitter @_NoahHiles
First Published: September 24, 2023, 3:33 a.m.
Updated: September 24, 2023, 3:52 a.m.