Believe it this time: Panthers, Pickett for real, as Clemson can attest

Finally, Pitt delivered in a big way, on a big stage, in front of a big crowd at Heinz Field against a big opponent.

Coming into the game with a 5-1 record, ranked No. 23 in the country, the Panthers had to prove against Clemson, a program that's won the ACC for six straight years and boasted the second-best scoring defense in the country, that they weren't pretenders in the ACC.

In front of 60,594 fans, Pitt defeated Clemson, 27-17, at Heinz Field on Saturday in a game that was on a national broadcast of ESPN. It was the largest crowd at a Pitt home game since Sept. 8, 2018 against Penn State, and it was a win that gave fans plenty to celebrate. It was not only the Panthers' third consecutive ACC win, but their fourth consecutive game with a margin of victory of at least two possessions.

The moment that best-captured the environment was undoubtedly SirVocea Dennis' pick-6 of D.J. Uiagalelei on Clemson's opening drive of the second half. As Pitt was up 14-7 and Clemson was driving after two first downs, Dennis blitzed at the right time for Pitt and picked off a shovel pass behind the line of scrimmage. He ran into the raucous Pitt student section that erupted with loud cheers:

"I'm going to set it straight here, I was just in the right place at the right time," Dennis said of his touchdown. "It was a great play call by coach (Randy) Bates. That play call just put me in the right position at the right moment. It was something we saw on tape from 2016 and a couple times last year. Every week we go through plays we have trouble defending and that was a play I missed against Tennessee. To be able to defend it this time, it just felt good."

It was a loud crowd all game, filling the North Shore with "Let's go Pitt! chants and chants for Kenny Pickett to win the Heisman Trophy. Pitt fans fed off the excitement of watching their Panthers improve to 6-1, and the Panthers fed off the energy of the fans.

"Couldn't be prouder of our football team just going out there and playing like they did," Pat Narduzzi said after the game. That's a good football team they beat today. First off, I want to thank the crowd out there today. They were outstanding. The Panther Pitt (student section), I'm not sure if I've seen them like that. Stayed all four quarters. We said we needed them to get it done. They take part in this win. It's everybody involved. It takes everybody. I was really proud of that crowd."

It wasn't just about the crowd showing up, it was also about how Narduzzi's Panthers showed up in a big opportunity to deliver a complete performance. Pitt's defense limited Clemson's offense to just two touchdowns while delivering two turnovers and scoring. Meanwhile, the offense -- coupled with Dennis' touchdown -- tied N.C. State for having the most points scored against Clemson all season.

The Panthers delivered against the best recruiting football program in the ACC to give itself six wins with five more games left on its schedule. They last started 6-1 in 2015 when they sputtered to an 8-5 finish in Narduzzi's first year.

"Love those guys in there," Narduzzi said after the game. "They fight. They're just fired up. Signature win for Pitt. We talked about that. They got it done. A lot of big plays."

If you want to see just how fired up Pitt's locker room was after the win, look no further than senior offensive tackle Carter Warren and Pickett leading the Panthers in singing the university fight song.

Pickett led the way for the Panthers completing 25 of 39 passes for 302 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the most passing yards allowed by Clemson all season, and it gave Pickett the all-time leading completions record for Pitt with 879, passing Alex Van Pelt's 867. It also was his 12th 300-yard passing performance, second-most in program history behind only Van Pelt's 14 such games.

As much as it was a signature win for Pitt, it was also a signature performance for Pickett against a stout Clemson defense on a big stage.

"It's one of the reasons Kenny came back," Narduzzi said of Pickett. "They were getting pressure and I don't think they ran the same blitz twice. It was different blitz after different blitz after different blitz, from three-down (linemen) and four-down (linemen). Kenny hung in there. He made good decisions with the ball. Didn't throw it to them, which is critical. That's what he had done down there last year. But that's a good defense. He played really well."

Pickett now has 23 passing touchdowns and only one interception on the season. If his four-touchdown performance against Georgia Tech in September was the game that began talks about a Heisman campaign for Pickett, as Narduzzi suggested then, this win was his biggest. 

But if you asked Pickett, who was featured on ESPN's 'College Gameday' before the game and interviewed by ESPN after, it was just another day at the office.

"It's really just about playing," Pickett said. "I can't really explain it. I just feel comfortable out there. I don't think about all that stuff. I'm grateful for all the kind words from the media, but once I'm out there, I'm just ready to play."

There was a different level of confidence for the Panthers in this win. And not a level of cockiness or unfounded arrogance, but actual confidence.

Clemson's defense asserted itself in the first quarter and early into the second quarter by forcing the Panthers to punt five times and recovering a fumble by Lucas Krull just after Clemson scored its first touchdown to make it 7-0.

But Pitt's defense didn't blink and forced Clemson to punt despite getting the ball at the 50, and then forced another punt after that despite the Tigers' defense winning the field position battle up to that point.

Then with 7:37 left in the second quarter, Pickett and the Panthers took over at their own 10-yard line. They went 90 yards in 13 plays capped by a beautiful 23-yard rollout touchdown pass from Pickett to Jordan Addison. It was perfect representation of Pickett's ability to extend plays, trust his receivers, throw into a tight passing window, and Addison to make a spectacular play:

Big plays like that have defined Pitt football this season, and have given the Panthers real confidence.

"We came in thinking we were the better team," Pickett said. "They're still Clemson with a great defense and we had to come in with the energy. Our motto is 'win at all cost.' We had to do whatever we could to win."

Clemson's defensive effort to start the game shouldn't be overlooked, as the Tigers applied pressure with different blitzes on almost every play and tight coverage that didn't give Pickett many open targets early in the game. But as Pitt's defense kept getting the offense the ball back, Pickett and company started slipping the punches from Clemson's defense and found their rhythm.

"Our line got used to seeing their blitzes," Pickett said. "They did a really good job mixing up looks. I knew I would see a lot of different defenses and a lot of different coverages. I knew I couldn't press early. I wanted to get a feel for the game and then go from there. It's all about taking what they give me and not force anything. Let the game come to me and our offense. Once we get rolling with that rhythm, we feel really good where we're at."

Then, Pitt's defense provided complementary football by allowing zero yards on a three-and-out to give the offense the ball right back. Pitt's offense proceeded with a nine-play, 76-yard touchdown drive. That drive culminated with the Panthers going for it on fourth down, and Pickett delivering with a 39-yard touchdown bomb to Taysir Mack that put the Panthers up 14-7 going into halftime.

"I heard the coaches talking on third down that we had two downs," Pickett said of his touchdown pass on fourth down to Mack. "I saw the coverage that we had and it was great call by coach Whip (offensive coordinator Mark Whipple). Taysir ran a great route. I knew pre-snap that I had it and all I had to do was make sure I didn't overthrow it because he was so wide open."

"We go back and forth on the headphones," Narduzzi said of his conversations with Whipple about  fourth down decisions. "Sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn't. I love Coach Whip. But we had no doubt we were going to go for it on that one. He felt good with his play call. You have to ride with the OC. If he feels good, we go."

That confidence to trust Pickett and the Pitt offense was validated with four consecutive scoring drives that stretched from the 7:37 mark of the second quarter to Sam Scarton's second field goal of the game with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter.

A huge part of that effort came from Pitt's offensive line that faced a large and athletic Clemson defensive front. In the second half, Pitt ran the ball 25 times for 113 yards. The Panthers finished with 162 total rushing yards on the day, the second-most allowed by Clemson this season. It might've been the best game for Pitt's offensive line this season.

"I think so," Pickett said when asked about Pitt's offensive line showing their potential. "You look at the quality of opponent we just played and what they've done to other teams, including the number one team in the country (Georgia), and those guys controlled the line of scrimmage. Hats off to them for all the hard work those guys put in. I'm incredibly proud of them."

Israel Abanikanda started the game at running back for Pitt, finishing with nine carries for 56 yards before getting knocked out after a big hit to the head in the second half. Vincent Davis would fill in for Pitt, taking 12 carries for 30 yards. But it was true freshman Rodney Hammond Jr. who led the Panthers with 66 rushing yards on 11 carries.

"I was waiting on my opportunity," Hammond said after the game. "I always make sure I stay ready on the sideline and ask the players who are in about what's going on so I know what's happening. I'm made for big games. I'm not scared of nobody."

Both Abanikanda and Addison went out of the game with injuries and couldn't return, but Pitt's offense kept plugging away to find success.

"I don't think guys were really fazed," Pickett said of Pitt's response to losing Addison and Abanikanda. "It was next man up. Those are two big-time players for us. But in that moment it was Rodney's turn to come up. For a true freshman to come in there and do what he did, he did a heck of a job."

That effort led to a  defining win that can spark a run for the rest of the season, one that gets the Panthers the kind of big season fans have been looking for from Narduzzi. 

"You gotta go get it, right?" Pickett said when asked about this win being a long time coming. "You can't wait for it to happen, you've got to go do it. I'm proud of every guy that went out there, mastered the game plan and did what we needed to do. It's a really player-led team and it's something our coaches have preached to us about being. We're playing to win, and not playing to not lose. That's the difference. Guys are playing aggressive in the fourth quarter and it's a different mindset we have."

Pickett got it himself in the fourth quarter with two insanely clutch third down conversions with him using his legs. The first came on a busted play where he scrambled for eight yards on a 3rd-and-7 and leaped while stretching the ball over the first down marker for the conversion before taking a hit from a Clemson defender. He followed that up with another third-down conversion, running the ball up the middle seven yards and diving to move the chains on a 3rd-and-6.

The Panthers dominated time of possession in the second half. They had two third-quarter, field-goal drives that burned 5:48 and 5:46 from the clock. They also held the ball for the final 7:56 of the game. 

Clemson's offense had just four second-half possessions.

That's what made Saturday the complete win, and the statement win for the program. Even younger players like Hammond were booming with confidence after the game.

"We're Pitt," Hammond said when asked what it was like facing a program like Clemson. "We're not scared of nobody. We're dogs."

For older players like senior cornerback Damarri Mathis, who also intercepted Uiagalelei, it was less about not being intimidated by Clemson's reputation, but atoning for Pitt's 52-17 loss to Clemson last season.

"It felt good," Mathis said of the win. "Even personally, it felt really good to me. I didn't get to play last year so this was a game that I circled on my calendar. I really wanted to play this game. I didn't like how they did us last year and how arrogant they were. I felt like I played well, our whole team played well, and it was a true team win."

For Pitt to have such a strong turnaround after its embarrassing loss to Western Michigan back in September means a lot to Narduzzi.

"You learn from your mistakes," Narduzzi. "That's what life is. You have to learn from your mistakes. We stumbled. But we got back up. It's not what happens early, it's what happens late. Our guys responded after that game."

"That team meeting that Kenny called, getting everybody together," Narduzzi continued, noting a team meeting called by Pickett the day after Pitt's loss to Western Michigan. "It comes down to the senior leadership, Kenny Pickett's leadership. You're only as good as your team. If you're a player-led team, you have a chance with Kenny. I hope all our young guys learn from Kenny Pickett."

Mathis agreed on Pickett's improved leadership, but also cited a combined effort across the board.

"It's everybody," Mathis said. "I can't even single out one person. Kenny has stepped up big time in a leadership role, but everybody is doing their job. From the trainers, the staff, the coaches, it's really everybody doing their job. We're just excited to keep this going throughout the season."

Pitt finally has a reason to be excited about the prospect of a full season with a chance to compete for the ACC crown. Narduzzi's Panthers won the ACC Coastal Division in 2018 with a 7-7 mark, but got blown out by Clemson 42-10.

This year is a different stage being set by the Panthers. Pitt is already 3-0 in the conference and atop the ACC Coastal ahead of Virginia's 3-2 conference record and North Carolina's 3-3 conference record. Both of those programs face Pitt at Heinz Field in November

When Pitt receives its new ranking Sunday from the Associated Press, it will be the second-consecutive week being ranked among the Top-25 teams. It's shaping up as a possible program-defining run for the Panthers.