The air was officially sucked out of Acrisure Stadium with 10:30 to play in the game, but that only represented the official point of no return for Pitt in its ACC opener.
It was E.J. Jenkins' touchdown catch at that point which set Georgia Tech up two scores and made the inevitable a reality for Pitt. But the final blow only validated what was building over the span of three-plus quarters of play.
Between Pitt and Georgia Tech, one team played four quarters of inspired, play-to-win, go-get-it football, and like they were the No. 24-ranked team in the nation.
The other struggled to find its own identity, gather a feel for the game, develop a semblance of rhythm, and establish a foundation for what is supposed to be a conference championship defense and a quest for a repeat.
Guess which team was which on Saturday.
The latter was the Pitt team which might have seen the opportunity for that title defense vanish in a slow, drab, and depressing fashion. It was the Pitt team which was favored by 22 points and succumbed to a hodgepodge of ugliness in a 26-21 defeat to the underdog Yellow Jackets.
"Overall, disappointing performance, period," Pat Narduzzi said. "But all of our goals are still ahead of us. I think it'll make (the players) a little hungrier. We have to take it, take what we got, what we paid for, and just weren't good enough."
Perhaps this gives credence to Brent Key, who took over as the Yellow Jackets' interim coach to begin the week in place of Geoff Collins, who was fired after going 10-28 over his three-plus-year tenure.
There's a quotient of addition by subtraction, in terms of a culture shock.
All of the math added up for Georgia Tech, but this without question will rank near the top of the list of bad Narduzzi losses as the Panthers' head coach.
This is Narduzzi's first loss to an ACC foe as a double-digit favorite since 2020, when it lost 30-29 as a 14-point favorite to NC State. It is Narduzzi's fourth overall loss as a double-digit favorite as Pitt's coach, and the third over his last three seasons (also including the loss to Western Michigan in 2021).
It started with -- literally -- the first play from scrimmage, where Erick Hallett II jumped a bubble screen and dropped a would-have-been an interception and a touchdown to put the Panthers ahead with barely any time taken off the clock.
That was only a glimpse of what the rest of the night had in store for the Panthers, which let many opportunities slip by their collective fingertips on defense while struggling to even reach for something to hold on to on offense.
A team which usually prides itself on creating turnovers couldn't force a single one from the ACC's last-ranked scoring and total offense which is as one-dimensional as it gets. The Yellow Jackets (2-3, 1-1 ACC) got a 157-yard effort from Hassan Hall on the ground, and quarterback Jeff Sims was able to escape pressure nearly at will in rushing for 81 net yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts.
"We missed what, four or five opportunities for turnovers," linebacker and captain SirVocea Dennis said. "We just got to do a better job. I don't know what else more to say about it. We've just got to capitalize on every opportunity. When you miss opportunities, games like that happen. We're 0 and 3 in the turnover ratio, so you never want to be down in the turnover ratio."
From the point of Hallett missing the first INT -- and later a second, while Tylar Wiltz dropped what should have been a third -- the Panthers' offense showed a preview of what it would be for the first three-plus quarters of the game. Kedon Slovis couldn't orchestrate anything for Pitt in leading the offense to three straight three-and-outs and a total of five yards through the Panthers' first three drives, all in the first quarter.
The box score does a poor job of highlighting Slovis' true experience on Saturday. His 26 completions in 45 attempts with 305 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception are fine on paper, but the on-field product was anything but.
The Panthers (3-2, 0-1 ACC) punted its first four possessions away. Slovis was, once again, hurried and hit often, as the Panthers failed to develop any type of timing and find any soft spots in a semisoft Georgia Tech secondary to make anything substantial happen.
It wasn't just within the first few series -- it became a trend up until Pitt absolutely had to do something otherwise in the fourth quarter, in a last-gasp effort.
Pitt also had next to nothing in terms of contributions from its ground game, which was the bread and butter of the offense for three of its four nonconference games. Reigning ACC running back of the week and all-purpose yards machine Israel Abanikanda was held to 31 yards on 10 carries before exiting the game with a reported right arm injury in the second quarter.
The Panthers rushed for 106 yards as a team, its lowest mark since rushing for 76 in Week 1 against West Virginia. Abanikanda's presence was obviously missed later in the game as Vincent Davis lost two fumbles in the second half.
"Obviously it hurts to lose him, but we've got a lot of great backs," Slovis said. "I think the other two guys can carry that load, and I think we could be better in a lot of areas."
QB1 makes a fair point. Pitt's offense was paltry at best for the bulk of the game, and not only did Narduzzi admit that the offense couldn't find rhythm until late, but Slovis doubled down on it.
"We didn't start fast like we needed to, and we left them in the game too long," Narduzzi said, "and, again, the offense really didn't get started until the last two series of the game. If we would have done that the whole game we would have had a chance."
Said Slovis, when asked about why the offense found success in the fourth quarter while sputtering across the first three quarters: "That's a good question. We'll go look on tape and see what happened."
MORE FROM THE GAME
β’ Two quick positives for Pitt's offense: One, after exiting the Rhode Island game with a reported shoulder injury, tight end Gavin Bartholomew didn't miss a step in his return on Saturday. He caught three of five targets for 55 yards, and his 29-yard TD grab gave Pitt a 7-6 lead near the end of the first half.
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β Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) October 2, 2022
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β’ Two, after four relatively dormant weeks as Pitt's fourth wide receiver, Jaden Bradley caught Slovis' two fourth quarter touchdowns -- of 26 and 18 yards. He entered Saturday's game with three catches for 20 yards, with one of those grabs going for 16 yards.
β’ That's where the positives end for Pitt's offense. This was an all-time clunker from a game planning standpoint, and it will circle back to Narduzzi and coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. at some point. But, one has to wonder how comfortable and confident Slovis is, even after the get-right opportunity offered last week against Rhode Island.
If there were questions of chemistry and rapport between Slovis and his receivers, they remained valid and perhaps were underlined on Saturday. A Pitt wide receiver didn't catch a Slovis pass until a 7-yard connection came with Konata Mumpfield with just under 2:30 to play in the first half. Slovis had completed just two passes up to that point, one to ancillary offensive lineman/tight end Ryan Jacoby, and one to Davis.
β’ The offensive line was widely believed as a strength for Pitt in the preseason. It is now considered as a concern.
Here were Pitt's starting offensive linemen in Week 1, from left to right: Carter Warren, Marcus Minor, Owen Drexel, Jake Kradel, Matt Goncalves.
Here were Pitt's starters from Saturday, from left to right: Branson Taylor, Minor, Kradel, Blake Zubovic, Goncalves.
Goncalves has filled in at right tackle for Gabe Houy, who missed the first three weeks of the season and returned for some snaps against Rhode Island. He played some against Georgia Tech, while Goncalves rotated over to left tackle to take over for Taylor in the second half.
Slovis has faced pressure ad nauseam in his three games, and the injury bug has bitten two of his most important protectors in the left tackle Warren and the center Drexel and has sidelined Houy for most of the season to date. This unit has excelled in run blocking, but their pass blocking undoubtedly has room for improvement.
THE ESSENTIALS
β’ Box score
β’ Live file
β’ Top 25 scores
β’ Schedule
β’ ACC standings
β’ Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
β’ DID NOT DRESS: QB Nick Patti, RB Rodney Hammond Jr., LT Carter Warren, OC Owen Drexel, DE Dayon Hayes, DL Samuel Okunlola, LB Aydin Henningham.
β’ RETURNED TO ACTION: WR Jared Wayne, DE Haba Baldonaldo, DE Deslin Alexandre, DT Devin Danielson, CB Marquis Williams.
β’ OUT FOR THE SEASON: DE Nate Temple, DB Rashad Battle.
β’ LEFT THE GAME: RB Israel Abanikanda (right arm), DT David Green (undisclosed).
THE SCHEDULE
β’ Pitt marches onward within ACC play with another home game on Oct. 8 against Virginia Tech. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. inside Acrisure Stadium, and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. The Panthers have an off week the following week before hitting the road for two straight games beginning on Oct. 22 at Louisville.
THE CONTENT
β’ Visit the Pitt team page and my Twitter page for more from Acrisure Stadium. Due to some scheduling conflicts, Gary Morgan and I are recording a new H2P Podcast Sunday afternoon, so check for that on all platforms on Monday.
