LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- With two weeks left in the season, Pat Narduzzi and the Panthers find themselves at another crossroads: Will Nate Yarnell or Eli Holstein be Pitt's starting quarterback Saturday against Louisville?
Narduzzi confirmed Thursday, during his last media availability of the week, that Holstein had been cleared from the injury he suffered against Virginia, which also held him out of Pitt's matchup against Clemson this past Saturday. However, Narduzzi did not name a starter heading into the weekend, which is a change of pace from how the 10th-year head coach approached the situation earlier this season.
After Holstein was injured against Syracuse, Narduzzi announced that Holstein would start against SMU after he was cleared by team doctors. Now, Narduzzi is either using a little gamesmanship ahead of a game that he and the Panthers need to win to get back on track, or he's severely leaning toward starting Yarnell, and he should.
There's no denying that Holstein has had a stellar redshirt freshman season for the Panthers. In nine games, he's thrown for 2,177 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing 62% of his passes and running for 323 yards and three touchdowns. But, ever since starting left tackle Branson Taylor went down with a season-ending leg injury, the offensive line has struggled to protect Holstein and it has contributed to the offense's inefficiency.
At times it looked as though Holstein had been thrown off by the pressure as he was often looking down at the defensive line and taking his eyes off receivers downfield. It led to more sacks and a clunky offense. With a diminished offensive line still in play, I think Yarnell can help the Panthers press forward which would also provide Holstein with another opportunity to watch from the sideline and see things from a different perspective.
Against Clemson, Yarnell completed 34 of his 54 passes for 350 yards and a touchdown. While the offense struggled early, they were able to put a few drives together in the second half that allowed them to take a lead late. But, one of the biggest strengths Yarnell showcased was his ability to decipher a defense and stay in the pocket despite Clemson's pressure.
"Just talking to him after the game, it was like, 'Coach, I knew every blitz that was coming except for two.' Like he knew -- it wasn't like he didn't prepare for it, but he knew it was coming, he knew where it was coming," Narduzzi said. "He was able to get protection where he needed to. But you still got to block one-on-one. If they're bringing six you have to be good for it. His intelligence goes a long way."
While it wasn't there the whole game, there were glimpses of it and Yarnell took some pretty big hits while doing it, which also won some praise from Narduzzi.
Clemson was one of the best defensive fronts that the Panthers have played all season and the eight sacks, including four from T.J. Parker, showed that. But, Yarnell was able to stand his ground and work through his progressions. While even he admitted that he needs to get the ball out quicker, it was certainly a game that he could learn from and I think one could see his improvement throughout as well.
With the injuries along the offensive front and the stagnation of the offense, choosing to go with Yarnell for at least this week would make sense. Louisville is a team that has allowed 25.6 points and 233 passing yards per game. If Yarnell can decipher Louisville's pressure that has produced 25 sacks, which is the eighth-best mark in the ACC, then the Panthers should find themselves in a good position on Saturday.
But there are also other things that the Panthers need to clean up offensively, including pre-snap penalties. The Panthers committed a season-high 13 penalties against Clemson and several of them came on offense. That's something that happens when there are a ton of changes along the offensive line, including Terrence Moore filling in for an injured Lyndon Cooper at center last week.
"Anytime you make a change, whether it's at center, whether it's at tackles, moving guys around, I mean, we've had that for a few weeks," Narduzzi said. "It's not easy, but we've got to get it done. That's our job as coaches to get it done."
Keeping the same quarterback under center for a second straight week would help with that, it builds a rapport in terms of cadence and all five offensive linemen operating as a unit with their quarterback.
There are plenty of things Pitt's offense needs to fix moving forward as they look to get back to the level they were playing at the beginning of the season, but Yarnell seems to be the best bet to get them there, at least for now.
THE OPPONENT
Coach: Jeff Brohm (82-52, 11th season; 16-8 at Louisville, 2nd season)
Record: (6-4, 4-3 ACC)
Players to watch: Tyler Shough, QB, R-Sr.; Isaac Brown, RB, Fr.; Ja'Corey Brooks, WR, R-Sr.; Ashton Gillotte, DL, Sr.; Jared Dawson, DL, R-Jr.; Tramel Logan, DL, R-Sr.;
With two games left in the season, the Cardinals are in a similar situation to Pitt. They've had their highs with a signature win over Clemson and they also pushed Miami to the brink. However, they are coming off one of their lowest points of the season after suffering a shocking defeat against 3-7 Stanford this past week.
"Obviously, Louisville is a good football team, talented, coming off a tough loss as we are in the last second of the game," Narduzzi said. "It will be a battle, it's never easy on the road. And Louisville played in the championship game a year ago, so really, really good football team. (Jeff) Brohm does a great job, I have a ton of respect, it will be a challenge on the road, guaranteed."
Like most offenses in the ACC, Louisville's starts with its quarterback. Tyler Shough, the redshirt senior who entered college in the same class as Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence, has played at Oregon and Texas Tech before landing with the Cardinals. He's completed 63.6% of his passes and has thrown for 2,774 yards and 21 touchdowns while averaging 277.4 passing yards per game.
He ranks third in the ACC in passing yards behind Miami's Cam Ward and Syracuse's Kyle McCord but he has the experience from playing in different systems and can pick defenses apart.
"He's a good quarterback, this guy can sling the ball and he's mature, he's an old man," Narduzzi said. " ... He's a football player, I mean you look at seven-year experience compared to one-year experience or three or four with Nate Yarnell, but seven years, I mean he's played a lot of football. I think 28 career starts, that's almost three years of starting experience. He's been through it, he's seen it, he's smart. You can see him read coverage, you can see him look off coverage, he's talented."
Shough's favorite target is Ja'Corey Brooks, who currently leads the ACC in receiving yards with 954 on 57 catches. He also has caught eight touchdowns and averaged 94.5 yards per game. The redshirt senior played three seasons at Alabama before transferring to Louisville ahead of this season. He caught 57 passes for 896 yards and 10 touchdowns in 36 games throughout three seasons for the Crimson Tide.
Freshman running back Isaac Brown is also a guy the Panthers will need to keep an eye out for. At 5-9, 190 pounds, he's built similarly to Desmond Reid and has had a ton of success this season. He's rushed for 803 yards, which ranks sixth in the ACC, and seven touchdowns. He provides the Cardinals with a solid punch out of the backfield and has also caught 26 passes for 131 yards.
Defensively, Narduzzi said the Cardinals are athletic but aren't as big or as physical as a team like Clemson. They've given up 139.5 rushing yards per game, but their opponents have also averaged 372.8 yards per game this season, which ranks 11th in the ACC.
Ashton Gillotte is one of Louisville's standout players. He's tallied 36 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks, along with several quarterback pressures.
"We'll have to know where he is at all times and try to help all of our linemen out when he's a pass rusher," Narduzzi said.
Both teams are coming off heartbreaking losses and will look to get back on track as they hope to finish their season on the right foot. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
