The big story for Pitt football’s return to play after its bye week against No. 14 Louisville at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium is undoubtedly the first career start for sophomore quarterback Christian Veilleux. But for coach Pat Narduzzi, the biggest focus for Pitt is about fixing several of the Panthers’ issues in their 1-4 start.
You don’t have to go digging too far to tell that’s Narduzzi’s emphasis, either. His first response to a question about Veilleux during his Thursday press conference at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex emphasized how his biggest challenge for Veilleux is to focus on his role and less about being a leader at quarterback against the Cardinals.
“He’s a young quarterback who’s still learning,” Narduzzi said of Veilleux. “He needs to not worry about leading and worry about just doing his job to the best of his ability. He just needs to go play his game like he’s practiced. I’m excited to watch him.”
For Pitt, the 2023 season was supposed to be about building off the 20 wins the program totaled over the last two years. But instead, it’s been Louisville with the red-hot start with a 6-0 record coming into Saturday.
“Louisville’s got a talented team,” Narduzzi said. “They brought in a lot of transfers and in all three phases of the game, they do a nice job.”
As Pitt was on its bye week, all the Panthers’ different position units focused more on getting back to the basics of football. Whether it was tackling on the defense, physicality on the offensive line or gap assignment in run defense, it’s been a common element for the Panthers to address in practice.
“We talk basics and are tackling every day,” Narduzzi said. “The best tackling drill for a defense is how you practice tackling in your team periods. Are you going to let a guy run by you? Or are you going to thud them up? That’s the best drill. The fundamentals are focused on every single day.”
Part of the fundamentals for Pitt has been fixing its run defense. The Panthers currently rank seventh in the ACC in run defense and have allowed 128.4 rushing yards per game and face a rushing offense in the Cardinals that ranks fourth in the conference at 192.3 rushing yards per game.
Last year, Pitt was the best run defense in the ACC and the only defense in the conference that allowed less than 100 rushing yards per game. For Narduzzi, that’s where the focus on tackling in practice has to pay off.
“I don’t know how many of our [missed tackles] were on tailbacks,” Narduzzi said of Pitt’s loss to Virginia Tech. “That Kyron Drones kid was a big dude, and we missed tackles on him in the backfield. [Louisville quarterback Jack] Plummer will have some option runs. It’s a speed option to get in space. But if they want to run it with him, we’re fine with that.”
An improved performance by Pitt’s defense against the run can allow the Panthers’ pass defense to be in more predictable situations, which could allow Pitt’s defense to create more turnovers. Last year, Pitt’s 14 interceptions ranked third in the conference. But through five games, the Panthers have just one interception, and Narduzzi’s biggest factor to addressing that is putting opposing offenses in more predictable situations.
“If they can be two-dimensional, they can stay in front of the sticks,” Narduzzi said. “When they’re behind the sticks, it’s easier to play defense. Our dominance in the run game in the past has helped us. It comes down to who you’re playing against. Bottom line is we have to get them off the field. When we spend 38-39 minutes on the field, we’re going to give up more plays.”
Offensively, the biggest focus outside of Veilleux is making sure the offensive line improves in pass protection. Pitt has allowed 13 sacks in five games, fifth-most in the ACC and a rate Narduzzi and offensive line coach Dave Borbely find unacceptable. While the run blocking must also improve, it’s clear the Panthers have prioritized improving their pass protection to give Veilleux a cleaner pocket.
“They’ve talked about [improving] protection,” Narduzzi said. “We can always get better run blocking, but they’ve asked for an extra [practice] period on [pass protection] to work against speed. It’s little stuff like that.”
Narduzzi’s approach is sound, as trying to lean on a young quarterback making his first start to be your biggest playmaker can prove disastrous. Pitt still has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball that has indisputably underperformed in the Panthers’ first five games of the season.
If Pitt can re-channel the talent it has into a collective effort of improved performances in all three phases of its game Saturday, it will take a lot of the pressure of Veilleux and may give the Panthers their best chance at a major upset.
Christopher Carter: ccarter@post-gazette.com and on Twitter @CarterCritiques
First Published: October 12, 2023, 7:32 p.m.
