It got ugly fast, and then it got uglier.
Pitt's record dropped to 5-5 as the Panthers were destroyed by the No. 4 ranked Clemson Tigers 52-17 Saturday.
But there were several interesting moments in the game that illustrate Pitt's season, the future of the program under Pat Narduzzi, a verification of just who is the best player in college football, and performances by two Pitt seniors that might've boosted their draft stocks in a nationally televised game.
Let's take a look:
• Clemson miles above Pitt, and most of college football:
It goes without saying, but Clemson is an immensely better football team and program than Pitt. Dabo Swinney's Tigers have also been that way for a decade now. Clemson has had double-digit win seasons in every year since 2011, and has been ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press at least once in each of the past six seasons.
That's why Pitt's win over Clemson in 2016 was so special, because the chasm of talent and recruiting ability between the two is as wide as the difference in talent between Dan Marino and Nathan Peterman.
Pitt's only hope to win this game was to hit on several big plays from start to finish and hope Clemson's three-week hiatus made the Tigers rusty enough to commit several mistakes. Of course, neither happened and the game was out of reach with Clemson up 31-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Pat Narduzzi has deserved plenty of flack this season for Pitt's inconsistencies and shortcomings in winnable games. This just wasn't one of those games. Pitt did put up a fight in the middle of the game, scoring 17 points while allowing only seven points from the 9:11 mark in the second quarter until there was just one minute left in the third quarter.
But that's just my point; when Pitt played well in this game, the Panthers gained 10 points on Clemson. When Clemson played well, the difference was 45 points.
99 out of 100 times if these two teams played each other, that would probably be the result. There's no shame in losing to a team that has you that outgunned, outmatched and outclassed from position to position. The goal was to put up a fight and see if your biggest playmakers could put on an amazing performance that made this a game. I'm not going to belittle Pitt for getting beat the way most programs do that aren't superpower schools.
• Narduzzi did the field goal thing again
Where there is shame in this loss was Narduzzi's decision to kick a field goal when Pitt had the ball 4th and goal inside the five-yard line while down 31-0 in the second quarter.
Even if the game was 0-0 at that point, when you're on the road and you're playing against a national powerhouse you better take every shot you have to score as much as you can. Kicking the field goal does nothing. To the point that even the announcers on ABC were laughing at the decision that took the Panthers' deficit down to just 28.
Just like last year, when Narduzzi opted to kick a field goal from Penn State's one-yard line while down seven points with five minutes to go, it made absolutely no sense. From the outside looking in, the decision looked like a submissive attempt. to avoid a shutout.
"You're going to take points whenever you have the opportunity to take points," Narduzzi said after the game when questioned on the decision. "Everything statistically says take a field goal. I'm not worried about kicking a field goal in the second quarter to avoid a shutout. Not even close."
Yeah, OK.
If you're going to go after arguably the best program in college football over the past six years, you knew that field goals weren't going to get the job done in the first place. Let alone when you're down by 31 points in the first half.
• Pitt's edge rushers boost draft stock
Without a doubt, Patrick Jones and Rashad Weaver have proven they are among the best edge rushers in the country and may be the best duo in all of college football.
They both got to Trevor Lawrence, the undisputed top ranked NFL prospect for the 2021 NFL Draft, and in front of a national audience. Jones had one sack that brought his season total to nine, second most in college football, and Weaver totaled two sacks along with a forced fumble that was the Panthers' only takeaway on the day. That puts Weaver's total to 7.5 on the season.
Both made their sacks in impressive fashion as well. Watch this inside swim move from Jones that leads the charge for the sack. And it came against one of the top NFL prospects at left tackle in Jackson Carman. You can see his explosive first step off the snap that gets Jones into his move, but that's something he's had for a while now. He completes this play with a beautiful swim move that gets over Carman's shoulder and clears his path to Lawrence for the huge sack:
That's called beating one of the best left tackles in the country and sacking the nation's top quarterback all in one play. And not by any fluke, but from Jones' hard work to become a complete pass rusher.
Weaver also showed his ability to disrupt plays with his two sacks.
Watch how Weaver pushes his man deep enough to get behind his protection, but quickly turns the corner and finds Lawrence's arm to force the fumble:
In the grand scheme of things, it didn't stop Clemson from romping Pitt.
But it put on tape Pitt's two top-rated edge rushers showing up in a big game against an even bigger opponent.
Think it doesn't matter because of the blow out? Think again.
There was a particular edge rusher who recorded a single sack and put out good tape against Lawrence and Clemson in 2019 during a 52-10 blowout over Charlotte. He was Alex Highsmith, the Steelers' 2020 third round draft pick and impressive backup at outside linebacker.
With solid performances in the NFL Scouting Combine, both Jones and Weaver could be some of the bigger prospects in the coming NFL Draft. Jones already has shown with his nine sacks that he's grown into a more complete and coachable player. Weaver's solid season shows what the Panthers have been missing when he was injured last year.
Jones projected as a third-round pick before the season, but now he looks like he may earn considerations to be a second round pick at least. Weaver had a lot steeper of a hill to climb, but he's done a lot to make up that ground. Both have set themselves up for good shots at careers in the NFL, and today's performance could go a long way to scouts' opinions.
• Trevor Lawrence reminds us how spectacular he is
Stats don't do Lawrence justice for what he did in this game, as he completed 26 of 37 passes for 403 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions.
He was even better than that, with how well he dealt with Pitt's pass rush and fit balls in tight passing windows all over the field. He's not just mobile with the ability to extend plays, he has the arm and the accuracy to hit targets anywhere on the field.
There might not have been a better example than his 70-yard bomb that traveled 50 yards through the air, perfectly being put in the bread basket of his receiver, and right over Jason Pinnock who was right in the hip pocket of his man in coverage:
Pitt's faced some impressive quarterbacks over the years, including Jameis Winston, Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson. But Lawrence may end up being the best out of all of them when his career is finished.
• Kenny Pickett is a warrior
Pickett finished the game completing 22 of 39 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. But he took a beating with six sacks as Pitt still had three offensive linemen missing due to COVID-19 in Carter Warren, Gabe Houy and Jake Kradel.
Pickett never quit in this game, even when he was getting battered and Pitt was down 31 points. He's been a tough player all season, playing on an ankle against Boston College that later required surgery. That toughness was on display against Clemson, earning praise from fellow captain and center Jimmy Morrissey.
"One thing about Kenny Pickett is he's got no quit in him," Morrissey said. "I love playing with him. It's been. an honor having him as my quarterback for the last four seasons. I love him."
• Jordan Addison Is the truth
The true freshman didn't have his best statistical showing with just five catches for 41 yards and a touchdown, but he did have one of the best plays of the game.
Watch how he brings in this catch in the corner of the end zone with the defender deflecting the ball. Addison not only maintains his focus and balance, but keeps both feet in bounds.
That would've been good in the NFL.
Addison has plenty of time to grow at Pitt, but he's already an exciting playmaker. Pitt's produced some exciting receivers over the years, with the most recent being the Bengals' Tyler Boyd. But Addison has a chance to be the best for the program since Larry Fitzgerald with how he combines explosiveness, speed, hands and a good understanding of the receiver position.
• Team's fight
One thing can be said about the Panthers' players in this blowout, even with Narduzzi's field-goal decision, is that they never gave up. Several players showed fight and effort in situations where it would've been easy to give up on a play when this game was out of reach.
Like when tight end John Vardzel ran down his man after a fumble recovery by Clemson and tackled him at the 1-yard line, saving the Panthers from giving up a score late in the game.
Or, in the two plays after when Swinney tried to punch the ball in for a touchdown despite being up 52-17 with less than a minute to go, and Pitt's backups on defense aggressively defended the goal line and kept the score the same.
Or, when Damar Hamlin chased down Clemson's tight end E.J. Williams on a 32-yard pass. Williams caught a pass and had a clear path to the end zone, but Hamlin didn't give up on the play and pushed Williams out of bounds to prevent a touchdown.
Seeing players not giving up on plays in a runaway game was a good sign that the players still believe in the program and would fight even when everything is up against them. That's something positive to take from this game, even with getting blown out by a superior opponent.
