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North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton (28) scores during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023.
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Analysis: Pitt's defense lacks answers for North Carolina's Drake Maye, wastes fast offensive start

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Analysis: Pitt's defense lacks answers for North Carolina's Drake Maye, wastes fast offensive start

Pitt lost its first ACC contest 41-24 in a game the Panthers looked to be in early but were routed by the Tar Heels as the night continued. The showing called Pitt’s defense into question, as it allowed touchdowns on four of North Carolina’s first five drives of the game. 

Although it was against one of the premier quarterbacks in the country in Drake Maye, it was still a chance for the defense to play complementary football while its offense got off to its hottest start of the season with two consecutive touchdown drives.

That’s where we start.

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What worked: Phil Jurkovec gave arguably his best performance of the season in the first half for Pitt before he was knocked out because of a targeting penalty on a hit by North Carolina defensive back Tayon Holloway with less than a minute left in the first half. Jurkovec completed 11 of 15 passes for 159 yards, also with a 20-yard run that helped the Panthers in their two opening touchdown drives of the game.

Phil Jurkovec of the Pittsburgh Panthers throws a pass in the first quarter against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Acrisure Stadium on September 23, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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“I wish he would’ve got four quarters,” coach Pat Narduzzi said of Jurkovec after the game. “He didn’t turn it over at all in the first half. He made good decisions.”

Coupled with Jurkovec’s strong start was a good showing by Pitt’s offensive line, which featured a new starting group for the Panthers’ fourth straight game. But with Branson Taylor at left tackle, Blake Zubovic at left guard, Terrence Moore making his first career start at center, Jason Collier at right guard and Ryan Baer making his first career start at right tackle, the Panthers controlled the line of scrimmage early.

“We wanted to establish the run, for sure,” Zubovic said. “We did that at the beginning pretty well. We were really imposing our will on them early. With a younger offensive line, we have to get the ball out quickly and run the ball. I think we did that pretty efficiently early in the game.”

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In the first quarter, Pitt ran the ball 13 times for 96 yards and completed all three of its third-down attempts. During Pitt’s first two drives, Rodney Hammond Jr. rushed nine times for 55 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown that gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead. 

That strong ground presence opened up opportunities in the passing game, which led to a big play-action throw by Jurkovec that was caught by tight end Gavin Bartholomew at North Carolina’s 1-yard line, setting up a Daniel Carter touchdown run on the next play.

It was the most confident the offense had looked to start a game this season — even against Wofford, the Panthers stumbled out the gates with a three-and-out. It was a sign Pitt’s offense could find a rhythm when its offensive line played well. But it couldn’t keep up with one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

What didn’t work: Maye showed Saturday night why he’s a Heisman candidate and expected to be a first-round NFL draft pick. He finished completing 22 of 30 passes for 296 yards, with a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns. Maye’s passing touchdown was the highlight of the night, as the right-handed quarterback switched to throw with his left hand as he was sandwiched between two Pitt pass rushers.

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“We did a lot of different stuff back there,” Narduzzi said of Pitt’s secondary schemes. “I’ve never seen so many passes caught on the sideline. It’s great execution by them, but we had guys in coverage. The only big one we gave up came from a spin route. Regardless of what coverage we put out there, the guy made plays.”

Narduzzi sounded like he lacked answers for Maye, who looked poised all night. He’s a quarterback who forces a defense to play at a high level across the board.

“It shows how great he really is,” defensive tackle and team captain David Green said. “We had a game plan, but we have to stay more disciplined with how we get after him. He’s really in tune with his offense.”

The bottom line for Pitt’s defense was that it couldn’t keep up when North Carolina picked up the tempo. Although the Panthers held the Tar Heels to just 29 rushing yards on 15 carries, it couldn’t keep up with Maye’s passing game. North Carolina didn’t care about possessing the football, as it scored 28 points in the first half while Pitt more than doubled it in time of possession with a 20:27 to 9:33 difference. 

“We could cover them better or pressure them. I don’t know what to tell you. He’s a really good player,” Narduzzi said. “We gave up 373 yards, and that’s more than 100 yards less than their [494.3 yards per game] average. He made the completions and the plays. Their one touchdown [pass], Nate Temple is on him, but he throws a touchdown pass.”

Narduzzi did have some complaints with the ACC officials, who did miss an illegal blocking downfield call on Maye’s touchdown pass.

“The only problem was there was a tight end blocking about 12 yards downfield, and it should be called,” Narduzzi continued. “He was blocking, and it was [supposed to be] a run. But the penalties are on us and not on them. [Maye’s] a good football player. Give him a lot of credit.”

Pitt’s defense did play better in the second half, as it finished the game with five sacks and only allowed 13 points. But when Pitt’s defense started to slow North Carolina down, the Panthers offense committed three second-half turnovers, including two Christian Veilleux interceptions and a fumble by him on attempted jet sweep to receiver Kenny Johnson.

The Panthers run defense largely held North Carolina’s run game in check, as the Tar Heels running backs combined for 26 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown, a limited average of 3 yards per carry.

While Randy Bates’ unit didn’t have its worst game by any stretch, it also didn’t give Pitt’s offense too many chances to punch back in the first half. Only once did Pitt’s defense force a punt while the Panthers had a lead, and that allowed the Tar Heels to go no huddle and play the tempo they wanted to with Maye.

“We wanted to take advantage of that tempo and slow it down,” Green said. “We wanted to confuse him with our different coverages and our adjustments we made up front. Our game plan was to try to contain him, but he was stepping up and making plays. The tempo got us a couple times.”

Had the pass defense gotten more stops early, it would’ve put Pitt in a better position to tire out North Carolina’s defense early, as North Carolina’s fast pace wouldn’t have produced points. But against one of the top quarterbacks in the country, the Panthers defense couldn’t hold the brief leads provided early on by their offense’s first two touchdown drives. 

Complementary football is something Pitt hasn’t shown for much of the 2023 season, and that’s a big reason why the Panthers are 1-3. 

What’s next: If Pitt wants any chance to salvage its season, it must rebound against a 1-3 Virginia Tech team next Saturday night in Blacksburg, Va. Otherwise, Narduzzi could end up with his first losing season since 2017, his second in nine seasons as Pitt’s head coach.

Christopher Carter: ccarter@post-gazette.com and on Twitter @CarterCritiques

First Published: September 24, 2023, 4:43 a.m.

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