Pickett makes Heisman statement, wrecks Georgia Tech, 52-21

“Kenny Pickett," Pat Narduzzi said after Pitt's 52-21 win over Georgia Tech. "Put him on your Heisman watch list.”

That's no false praise for Pickett, who's building a legitimate case for the Heisman Trophy with a fourth-straight game with multiple touchdowns scored as he led Pitt to its first ACC win Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.

Pickett's numbers made it evident just how dominant he was in the game as he completed 23 of 36 passes for 389 passing yards and four touchdowns. Watching the game, you could see how his throws were so on-target that they were hitting receivers even when they slipped in their routes.

Watch this play when Pickett threw a ball to Jordan Addison on a corner route. Addison was open and the ball was there, but Addison slipped in his route, as several Panthers did throughout the game, and fell to the ground. Despite that, Pickett's pass was perfectly timed so that the cornerback couldn't react to it and Addison still found a way to make a great catch while lying on his back:

Even when things were going wrong for Pitt, the Panthers found ways to make it work.

Georgia Tech was a 2-2 team coming off a 45-21 win over No. 21 ranked North Carolina last week and the Panthers' first ACC opponent of the season. The Yellow Jackets recorded eight sacks and limited a preseason Heisman hopeful in quarterback Sam Howell to just two touchdowns in the game.

"That was a good football team," Narduzzi said of Georgia Tech. "Don't kid yourself in thinking that was some average football team. They took Clemson to the wire and took down North Carolina, a ranked team, last week. It's a nice victory on the road and this team is hard to beat here."

Against Pitt, Georgia Tech only got a single sack on Pickett that came when it sniffed out a screen and Pickett had to take the loss. But other than that, the Panthers' offensive line gave Pickett pocket after pocket with plenty of time to process the Yellow Jackets' defense and make plays downfield.

That's why Narduzzi's call for Pickett to get more attention as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy is legitimate. Howell was one of the quarterbacks everyone thought would be in that conversation, and he looked nowhere near as prolific day.

The only Panther in program history to win the Heisman Trophy was Tony Dorsett in 1976. The closest any Panther has gotten to winning the Heisman since was in 2003 when Larry Fitzgerald came in second to Jason White in voting.

I know, those are the elite of the elite names, not just in Pitt history, but in college football. But when it comes to top performers in college football this season, Pickett's right with the best this season.

He's now led Pitt's offense to a fifth-consecutive game scoring 40 points or more, which before this season, hadn't been done more than twice in a row in program history. Pitt's 52 points scored was actually lower than its 52.5 points per game average going into Saturday's game.

Pickett came into the game with 15 passing touchdowns, which was the second-most in the country going into Saturday. Now with 19 passing touchdowns he continues to build his case as the best quarterback in the ACC and one of the best in the country.

Those numbers could get played down against UMass and New Hampshire, but against Tennessee, Western Michigan and now Georgia Tech, Pickett has looked to be one of college football's most unstoppable forces. The Yellow Jackets even tried to switch up its defensive looks, going from blitzing to create pressure to backing off Pickett for more coverage.

"Every time we talk about throwing how we did today, you have to talk about the offensive line," Narduzzi said on Pitt's protection of Pickett. "We had a couple holding calls late, but our line's playing well. I think we gave up one sack early, but we were good. They did a nice job today."

At one point, Georgia Tech would only rush three players for plenty of the game in order to drop seven players in coverage and make the passing windows tighter. That didn't even slow Pickett up, as he would wait for his receivers to get open or use his legs to extend plays outside the pocket and find his man downfield.

His longest touchdown came when he hit Taysir Mack with a 55-yard bomb to put Pitt up 28-7 in the second quarter:

Mack and Addison both showed up big on the day with Pickett. Mack finished catching 5 of 7 targets to lead the team with 121 yards and a touchdown, while Addison caught 6 of 9 targets for 117 yards and a touchdown. Although Pitt's receivers didn't have a second straight game with zero drops, Pitt's weapons were on display Saturday.

"Lights out," Narduzzi said when asked about Addison's performance. "He's a Biletnikoff type of a guy. He's outstanding, even though he was average today. He had a couple drops and I don't see those very often. But even with that, he's playing at a high level. And that helps Kenny on scramble drills with how much he gets open."

Pickett wasn't just hitting open receivers, he was also throwing into tight passing windows when Georgia Tech did have the coverage. Here's a touchdown pass when he hit Lucas Krull, who finished with two catches for 45 yards, including this 16-yard touchdown. The score got Pickett to break a program record held by Dan Marino:

"It's just what he is right now," Narduzzi said when asked about how composed Pickett has been at quarterback. "He's so calm in the second quarter he was in a two-minute situation that he scrambled out of the pocket, checked the chains to make sure he didn't cross the line of scrimmage then fired a big pass to Lucas for a big gain. (Mark) Whipple doesn't coach that. It's just him working year after year to be a smart football player. He's put the work in and deserves everything he gets right now."

It wasn't just a big numbers game for Pickett, who improved his career passing numbers to 9,715 for Pitt, putting himself only 1,198 passing yards behind Alex Van Pelt's all-time program record. It was also a statement game that Pitt may have the best offense in the ACC after the way it effortlessly moved the ball against Georgia Tech.

Pitt went up 21-7 in the first quarter, then doubled that to make it 42-14 at the half. Even when the offense slowed the game down in the second half, Pitt still outscored Georgia Tech 10-7. While Pickett led the charge in a dominant day, Pitt's defense also had plenty of big plays as well.

After Pitt's first possession that resulted in a punt, Deslin Alexandre tipped a pass from Jeff Sims that wound up in the hands of Cam Bright for an interception. Seven plays and 48 yards later, Israel Abanikanda had Pitt on the board with a nine-yard touchdown run.

The Panthers' defense followed that up with Habakkuk Baldonado hitting Sims as he was throwing a pass on Georgia Tech's second possession, leading to a pass that fluttered high enough for John Petrishen to catch the interception and return it 33 yards for a touchdown to put Pitt up 14-0.

"Our defense did some great things," Narduzzi said after the game. "Those two early interceptions were big and with John taking one to the house, that sparks everybody and we continue to feed off each other. It helps when our offense is that hard to stop."

Sims did finish completing 23 of 32 passes for 342 passing yards and two touchdowns as Georgia Tech would gain 415 yards of offense, but would lose plenty of situation football scenarios. Georgia Tech didn't convert a third down until the third quarter on a drive that ended with a blocked field goal by SirVocea Dennis. On the day, Georgia Tech went 2 of 11 on third downs and 1 of 4 on fourth downs.

Dennis had the best day defensively with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, including a sack, to go along with his blocked field goal. Brandon Hill led the Panthers with nine tackles, including one for a loss, but also got beat for 44-yard touchdown pass from Sims to Nate McCollum.

Pitt's defense didn't have its best day, but the offense backed it up each time the Panthers' defense let up a score. After each Georgia Tech touchdown, Pitt's offense responded with a scoring drive. Both of Georgia Tech's first half touchdowns were followed by touchdowns, and Georgia Tech's lone second-half touchdown was responded to with a field goal drive that took 4:56 off the clock.

It was the kind of complete football that Pitt can look at on tape and be feel more confident about the direction of the team than blowout wins over FCS teams or losing to a MAC team like Western Michigan.

"A couple weeks ago we had a wakeup call," Narduzzi said. "Our captains keep doing a great job leading our football team. It's player-led, I don't do anything. I just watch them go."

Now, it looks like it might need to be the ACC that needs a wakeup call.

Five games in, Pitt is 4-1 before its bye week after a dominant win over Georgia Tech. The Panthers' next opponent is the only other team in the ACC Coastal who has an undefeated conference record in Virginia Tech (1-0), and that matchup comes a week after the Hokies face No. 9 Notre Dame at home.

Tied atop the ACC Coastal division with a quarterback in Pickett who should be getting Heisman Trophy love, Pitt should be in real considerations to be a ranked team when the Associated Press releases its new top-25 poll Sunday.

In a year when the ACC is lacking any true powerhouse program as Clemson is 2-2 heading into a Saturday night matchup with Boston College, Pitt could be ranked going into an ACC schedule with no opponents that should be heavily favored over the Panthers while having the best offense in the conference.