If Saturday's renewal of the Johnny Majors Classic reminded us of one thing regarding college football, it was about the standard that's expected out of the great teams in the sport.
It made me think of the perennial powerhouses that, every season, are simply College Football Playoff-or-bust and are damned to the expectation of perfection. This has become the norm for Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson, with Georgia entering its name into the conversation as a perennial contender over recent years.
That's a hard thing to keep up with on a consistent basis. There have been teams sprinkled in over the course of the eight years we have experienced this format -- last year it was Michigan and Group of Five school Cincinnati entering the mix -- but that's soon to change with the ballooning of the format to 12 teams beginning as late as 2026.
For all that this current four-team model to wedge teams from five power conferences is worth, if you're not on your 'A' game weekly, those aspirations can vanish in a flash.
Understandably, after an ACC championship 2021 season, Pitt had these aspirations. And, they should have.
But, many circumstances limited the Panthers from playing a complete 'A' level game on Saturday.
Now, the initial reaction to the No. 17 Panthers' 34-27 overtime loss to No. 24 Tennessee was just this: The perfect season is out the window, so that means the College Football Playoff is unattainable.
(Three of ESPN analyst Desmond Howard's now-infamous playoff predictions lost on Saturday, by the way. Including Pitt, the other two which lost were No. 6 Texas A&M to Appalachian State, and No. 9 Baylor at No. 21 BYU.)
Is Pitt entirely out of the CFP discussion after losing to the Volunteers, which were a road touchdown favorite despite being ranked seven slots below Pitt?
Entirely? I'm not sure. But, the open road to the playoff suddenly turned into a gravel one -- with pot holes and orange traffic cones.
I can see where the disappointment might lie. Shy of the quarterback and WR1 positions, Pitt's 2022 team is arguably better than the 2021 team on paper. There was every reason in the world to have these expectations, and I'm hoping those continue to grow as time goes under Pat Narduzzi's tenure.
The Panthers have one more ranked opponent on its schedule, as it currently stands: No. 15 Miami, which had to turn the jets on in the second half to pull ahead from ... *checks notes* ... Southern Miss ... on Saturday.
Pitt would undoubtedly have to run the table from this point forward, and do so in a rather convincing manner. The CFP selection committee doesn't take too kindly to home losses, but there's some credence to Tennessee being favored, Pitt keeping the final score near that line, and forcing overtime in this first loss of the season.
Now, I know you didn't come here for the don't-worry-the-sky-isn't-falling TED Talk (unless you did), but there are still avenues for Pitt to get the playoff. They just need some help from the rest of the college football world.
Even if they don't, and for all of the sky-high expectations from within and from its fans, there are still major benchmarks the program can hit in 2022.
The ACC title defense didn't take a hit with a loss to a Southeastern Conference school. There is a clean slate in conference play and, with two tune-up games against Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan and Football Championship Subdivision school Rhode Island on the horizon, these next couple of weeks weeks pose the perfect "get-right" opportunities for the Panthers before ACC play begins.
But, on Saturday...
"No excuses," Narduzzi said. "We've got to find a way to win. It's a good football team. I love our football team. I love where they are. And, again, all our goals are ahead of us."
Narduzzi also mentioned there were improvements made from Week 1 to Week 2.
"It's a nonconference game," he said. "As I told them before the game, we're going to go out and have fun, play loose, and go. We're going to get better. And, you know, again, nonconference game. Move on."
We asked Narduzzi, his assistant coaches, and players during training camp about opening the schedule in the manner they did. They scheduled West Virginia and Tennessee first, followed by the Western Michigan and Rhode Island games, the latter of the two which will favor Pitt.
Everyone gave relatively the same answer. They all welcomed the challenge to hit the ground running hard at first, rather than "easing" into things and then ramping up for the two difficult matchups.
So, what does Pitt have to accomplish in the short-term with these games ahead of ACC play?
First and foremost, they have to get healthy. Quarterback Kedon Slovis missed the second half after getting bashed around by Tennessee's pass rush to the tune of multiple hurries and hits and a pair of sacks, including the final blow at the end of the first half. Reserve QB Nick Patti played the fourth quarter with a bad ankle after sustaining similar blows to Tennessee's pass rush. Starters Deslin Alexandre, Gabe Houy, and Rodney Hammond Jr. each missed Saturday's game. And, defensive linemen Tyler Bentley and Devin Danielson each went down with injuries during the same drive.
Now, the quarterback injuries shouldn't be too serious long-term. A source told DK Pittsburgh Sports on Sunday that Slovis was diagnosed with a concussion, and Patti has a high ankle sprain. So, we could see either back as soon as Saturday at Western Michigan or, with these two light matchups on the horizon, perhaps Slovis gets a week off to recuperate and Patti plays if he's healthy enough. Or, if Patti has to miss an extended period of time, that could elevate Nate Yarnell into a QB2 role.
This week's practices and what Narduzzi tells us at his press briefings will be the indicators.
Then there's the things to clean up. The offensive line was nowhere near par for the second week in a row, and the secondary has had troubles over two weeks containing star receivers Bryce Ford-Wheaton of West Virginia (9 catches, 97 yards, two TDs) and Tennessee's Cedric Tillman, who burned through for nine catches, 162 yards, and a TD.
There's also the notable dropped passes from Pitt wide receivers. Bub Means had a dropped deep ball from Slovis in the Backyard Brawl, and the drop in the back of the endzone on Saturday resulted in a Tennessee interception and a subsequent touchdown drive.
There's also the kicking game, now, after Ben Sauls missed field goals of 46 and 36 yards, and made a 35-yard kick which was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
There's more to it than these, but you get the idea.
But, with this lightened schedule ahead of ACC play, which begins with a favorable game against Georgia Tech in a few weeks, Pitt has the opportunity to get right.
I mentioned in my game story that I felt Pitt left a lot of points on the board -- 24, to be exact, which came down to a lack of execution.
I still feel that way, and Narduzzi shared the same sentiment after the game.
"Our kids played hard," he said. "Made some plays, and didn't make some plays."
For all of the chances that Pitt squandered away, they still had a shot at winning on Saturday. Tennessee didn't play its best game, either, and afforded many opportunities for the Panthers to take the game from them.
Pitt had to adjust through Slovis' injury, and the mobile Patti's best trait became limited once his injury occurred.
Frank Cignetti Jr. made the appropriate adjustments to his offense once Patti entered. More snaps under center, more two-tight end sets, more plays designed to highlight Patti's strengths.
There were positives to draw from Saturday. Israel Abanikanda boomed for 154 yards on 25 carries, and had a 76-yard TD run to spark the offense on its second drive. He looked like the running back we all expected to see, and his play was undoubtedly a bright spot on Saturday.
Then there was tight end Gavin Bartholomew, who followed up a one catch, 9-yard performance in the Backyard Brawl with a team-best 84 yards on five catches and a "SportsCenter" Top 10 play-worthy TD which included a hurdle over defensive back Trevon Flowers.
Then there was the resolve the defense showed in the second half. After allowing 24 points and 266 yards in the first half to the hyper-tempo Vols, the Panthers surrendered just 3 points and 115 yards in the second half of regulation. Tennessee was 1-for-7 on third down in the second half.
"Tempo is a double-edged sword," defensive end Haba Baldonaldo said. "We get tired, but they get tired, too, especially being SEC O-linemen. Big, physical, and we were ready. We're conditioned. We just tuned in the fine, little details and just executed better than the first half."
Pitt's offense didn't execute as it wanted to down the stretch, a mirror to the close of the Backyard Brawl when Slovis drove Pitt down the field on a late game-tying drive, in which he went 5-for-5 for 73 yards and a TD to Abanikanda.
Pitt had a shot at beating Tennessee, in spite of its shortcomings. At the end of Saturday, the lack of offensive execution cost them.
Remember when Narduzzi quipped that if Kenny Pickett played in the Peach Bowl, he would have made a 21-point difference?
I'll tear a page and make edits to that book: If a healthy Slovis plays the second half on Saturday, I think Pitt wins that game in regulation. Heck, if Patti plays fully healthy, Pitt still had a chance at it.
As Bartholomew said about Patti: "There were some plays you see and he could hardly walk."
Pitt will have these next two weeks to tighten the screws before conference play begins. While the CFP dreams faded on Saturday, the ACC championship repeat is still strongly in play.
Let's see how these next few weeks unfold before we look back up at the sky to see if it's truly falling.
