Panthers clinch ACC Coastal over Virginia with Addison's four TDs

Against the nation's fourth-leading passer in Virginia's Brennan Armstrong, Pitt had to stand tall Saturday in the final minutes with a chance to clinch the ACC Coastal Division in front of its fans at Heinz Field.

The Panthers did just that, winning 48-38 to improve to 9-2 on the season, 6-1 in the ACC, and punch their ticket to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, N.C. on Dec. 4.

After the game, coach Pat Narduzzi accepted the ACC Coastal Division trophy in front of Pitt's student section, hoisting it above his head before handing it off to the players for them to celebrate while he took the microphone to address the jubilant fans at Heinz Field.

"Hail to Pitt!" Narduzzi shouted. "Hail to Pitt! These guys made all the plays. We got one more. We've got unfinished business. This is a big moment in Pitt history!"

It wasn't the biggest Pitt crowd at Heinz Field this season with 45,183 in attendance, but it was plenty loud. Pitt's defense could attest to that when it made its final stand in front of the student section, forcing Armstrong and Virginia to turn the ball over on downs and ultimately seal the game. The defense finally got the big stop it needed after Armstrong threw for 487 yards and three touchdowns.

"Shoutout to the student section," linebacker John Petrishen said after the game. "They've been great all year. I've come out to Pitt games all my life but I've never seen a student section like we've had all year. They help us a ton. I was yelling at our safety Erick Hallett (II), 'I can't hear you' because they were so loud. We didn't think they would be here as much because of Thanksgiving break, but they came up huge for us."

Narduzzi also expressed his appreciation for the fans.

"The fans were outstanding," Narduzzi said. "The Panther Pit was like they've been all year. I can't say enough about all our season ticket holders. Everybody that showed up today, last week, the week before. They've been outstanding, the best I've seen in seven years that I've been the head coach here. Hopefully it just continues to get better and they travel to Syracuse next weekend too."

But what was truly outstanding was Pitt relying on its two best players, Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison, connecting for four touchdowns on the night. The final one coming in amazing fashion with Pitt having a third-and-5 on its own end of the field while up only three points and 2:23 left in the game.

Instead of running the ball to kill the clock, Pitt opted to take to the air and let Pickett target Addison deep down the field. Pickett faked the handoff and rolled to his right, but his pass hung in the air with Virginia's cornerback Darrius Barton having a shot at the ball. 

Then, Addison came back for the pass, snatched the ball from Barton's hands, and took it the rest of the way for the final touchdown of the game:

It was the play Narduzzi wanted, and it gave Pitt the two-score lead with a little over two minutes left in the game. Addison and Pickett talked after the game about working on the play and being ready for that moment.

"We worked on it all week in practice," Addison said. "Then when game time came on third down, my team needed me to make a play. I was just happy to make a play for them. (The cornerback) almost had it, but I had to go get it and take it away from him."

"I just thought about giving him a chance," Pickett said of the play. "That look and that route, we hadn't worked it as much as I wanted to but Jordan did a great job adjusting. I thought he might get a hold or a defensive pass interference. But he did the rest, caught it and took it to the house. I trusted him to come down with it and that's the faith I have in him every time he's out there."

Addison finished with 14 catches for 202 yards and four touchdowns on a legendary night. He was the first 200-yard receiver since for Pitt since Larry Fitzgerald did it in 2003. His four touchdowns tied for the most in a game with Julius Dawkins (twice) in 1981, and Billy Davis in 1994. Not only did he come up with big numbers, but also in big moments.

In addition to the final touchdown coming on a third down, Addison scored two of his other three touchdowns on the night on fourth down passes from Pickett as Narduzzi and Whipple believed in their stars to come up big for the win.

"I hope there's no questions about that," Pickett said when asked about Addison's bid for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's top receiver. "He played out of his mind tonight. He made every play. I made sure I knew where No. 3 was at all times. He gives us our best chance to win every time. Can't say enough about him."

Narduzzi jumped in on the praising for Addison to win the Biletnikoff, and maybe even get Heisman Trophy considerations like Pickett has gotten in recent weeks.

"Maybe they're a tie for the Heisman," Narduzzi said. "If Jordan Addison didn't get the Biletnikoff today, I don't know who does."

Pickett, in his final home game for Pitt, didn't have his best game, but he was still the captain for the Panthers coming up with big moments and a day where he broke more records for Pitt. He finished completing 26 of 41 passes for 340 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. 

Those numbers pushed Pickett to 3,857 yards this season, a single season record for Pitt that eclipsed Rod Rutherford’s mark of 3,679 set in 2003. Pickett is now responsible for 40 touchdowns this season (36 passing and four rushing), which is also a Pitt record. He broke the prior mark of 39 set by Dan Marino in 1981 and tied by Rutherford in 2003. He now has 75 career passing touchdowns for the Panthers, second only to Marino's 79.

"Kenny Pickett was outstanding," Narduzzi said. "Just a tough guy. Went down for a minute there and came roaring back. Threw a pick before the half, but that was a non-play really. Taking a shot, trying to get us in field-goal range. Didn't like the one in the third quarter, but we'll look at it. Must have done a good job disguising coverages."

Pickett took a shot in the fourth quarter when he threw an incomplete pass on a third-and-1. He was slow to get up afterwards, and when he did he went straight to Pitt's medical tent. After Nick Patti came in and threw a fourth-down pass to Jared Wayne that drew defensive pass interference, Pickett emerged from the tent and took the field to help finish the drive.

As Pickett jogged back onto the field, loud cheers from the Pitt crowd rang out as the crowd chanted "KEN-NY! KEN-NY!" as he re-took the field. Pickett would complete a nine-yard pass to Addison that would eventually set up Rodney Hammond Jr.'s one-yard touchdown run to put Pitt up 41-31.

"Kenny Pickett," Narduzzi continued. "It's great for him to go out in Heinz Field like that."

• Pitt's defense got picked apart by Armstrong as expected with Virginia's quarterback connecting on 36 of 49 passes for 487 passing yards and three touchdowns. But Pitt's pass rush got after Armstrong with five sacks split among Deslin Alexandre's 2.5, John Morgan's 1.5, and Calijah Kancey's 1.5.

The defense lost a key player early when SirVocea Dennis was ejected for a targeting penalty as his hit broke up a third-down pass during Virginia's first drive. Dennis has been a key defender and communicator, one whose made big plays, including an interception returned for a touchdown against Clemson.

Narduzzi wasn't happy about losing him, as you could tell in his postgame press conference.

"Changes a lot" Narduzzi said when asked the impact of the game. "SirVocea is one of our best players on defense. That was a game changer. That was critical on some of the coverages we were doing. We knew he could match up with those guys athletically. We needed him in there. To not have him, that hurt us. He's become the leader of our defense and runs the show."

Dennis will be back next game, but Brandon Hill, who was ejected late in the fourth quarter for targeting, will most likely miss the first half of Pitt's game against Syracuse next Saturday in the Carrier Dome.

Even with those players missing, the Panthers' defense did come up with some timely stops. In Pitt's first drive of the third quarter, Pickett threw an interception that gave Virginia the ball at Pitt's 12 with the Panthers only up by a field goal. The defense never let Virginia gain a yard and forced a three-and-out field goal.

• In addition to the defense's contributions, Pitt had a very good day from its special teams. Freshman Sam Scarton hit all five of his extra points along with both of his field goals from 36 and 23 yards.

But it was Pitt's returners that changed the game. After Virginia tied the game at 14-14, Pitt got a 98-yard touchdown on a kick return from Israel Abanikanda down the sideline:

Addison also had a 39-yard punt return that set up one of Scarton's two field goals.

"We've been waiting to break one," Narduzzi said. "Putting Izzy (Abanikanda) back there on kickoff return is a great move. He's physical. He's fast. That was fun to watch. A kickoff return for a touchdown, you don't get them very often. We've been waiting to explode in one of these special teams. It only happens when it happens."

Abanikanda only had three rushes for 19 yards during the game. Narduzzi explained that was only because of an injury that limited him, but Vincent Davis led the team with 100 yards rushing yards on 12 carries, Rodney Hammond Jr. ran for 66 yards on 15 carries along with a touchdown.

"Izzy wasn't available," Narduzzi said. "Got a little tweaking, he'll be fine. He's got good dance moves in there post-game, so he's fine. We want to make sure that he's going to be okay. You guys ask all the time, why do we rotate those guys? Because we trust everybody. Vincent Davis had a great day. Rodney's a bull. He had some terrific runs there near the end. You can't win championships with one guy. You need to have a few. You've got to keep them with you. You've got to keep them engaged and keep giving them the ball."

• Pitt's ticket is punched to the ACC Championship Game, but the Atlantic Coast Division is still up for grabs among Wake Forest, Clemson and North Carolina State.

Clemson beat up Wake Forest 47-28 on Saturday, preventing the Demon Deacons from clinching the division. Now, it all comes down to next weekend's games to see who will face Pitt.

Heading into next week, Wake Forest has a 6-1 conference record, Clemson sits at 6-2, while North Carolina State is at 5-2.

If you're confused as to why Wake Forest only has one designated conference loss despite losing to two ACC opponents this season in North Carolina and Clemson, you're not alone. But Wake Forest and North Carolina's matchup, where the Tar Heels came out on top, was officially considered a non-conference game for reasons that you can find in this explanation. Yeah, it's weird.

The bottom line is that Clemson's conference schedule is done as it faces South Carolina, and Wake Forest plays on the road against a 6-5 Boston College team while North Carolina State hosts North Carolina.

Here are the possible scenarios for each team to win the division:

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons have the simplest path at 6-1 with both Clemson and North Carolina State having two losses. If the Wake Forest beats Boston College next week, they win the division and face Pitt.

North Carolina State: If Wake Forest loses to Boston College, the Wolfpack could clinch the division by beating their in-state rivals, the Tar Heels. 

Clemson: The only way for Clemson to win the division is if both Wake Forest and North Carolina State lose. That would set the tiebreakers into play that would favor the Tigers and propel them to a seventh consecutive ACC Championship Game. 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live File
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE SCHEDULE

The new Associated Press poll gets released Sunday at 2 p.m. with the chance that Pitt might get its highest ever ranking under Narduzzi. Then, Narduzzi's press conference will be Monday at noon.

THE CONTENT

Visit our Pitt team page for everything.