Anyone remember 7-0? Panthers blown out for fourth straight loss
GETTY
Nate Yarnell targets one of his receivers as Ashton Gillotte bears down on him.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- In the blink of an eye, Pitt has gone from undefeated and ranked No. 18 in the College Football Playoff to a four-game losing streak, the latest of which came Saturday evening at L&N Stadium as Louisville throttled the Panthers, 37-9.
The penalty issues that plagued the offense a week ago were mostly eliminated, but they were replaced by two game-changing interceptions and two failed fourth-down conversions that gifted the Cardinals prime field position.
The first of the interceptions killed an opening drive that might've made one think the offense had found its mojo again. Eli Holstein completed two passes of 20-plus yards to Konata Mumpfield and Desmond Reid and then ran for another 9 yards. But, then this happened:
It was the beginning of the end, as the Cardinals kicked a field goal on that drive, then scored touchdowns on the two drives after that for a 17-0 lead. However, the defense buckled down, forced a three-and-out and then ended Louisville's eight-play 66-yard drive at the goal line.
It was the type of play that could swing the momentum, as I asked Sean Fitzsimmons: "It was huge, a big fourth-down stop is always a momentum swing, but it just wasn't our today." It wasn't, because this followed:
A missed tackle allowed that score and another allowed a 68-yard score by Chris Bell, who finished with 101 yards on just two catches, to make it 34-0 in the third quarter. Multiple turnovers and failed fourth-down conversions allowed the Cardinals to start at midfield or in Pitt territory three times, and they also had two drives start near their own 40. On top of that, the Panthers gave up 500 yards of total offense and 10 plays of 15-plus yards, four of 30-plus.
"There were too many sudden changes, whether it was interceptions or fourth-down stops at the 50," Pat Narduzzi said. "I put them in bad positions. That’s why I decided in the second half I’m not going to keep doing it … but we gotta make plays, and we didn’t make enough plays today."
To avoid dropping to 7-5, the Panthers must travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., two days after Thanksgiving and take down a Boston College team that has loss four of its past six but also beat Syracuse and North Carolina in that span.
Still, Narduzzi said the resolve is "good" and "our kids understand where they are."
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
7:27 pm - 11.23.2024Louisville, Ky.Anyone remember 7-0? Panthers blown out for fourth straight loss
GETTY
Nate Yarnell targets one of his receivers as Ashton Gillotte bears down on him.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- In the blink of an eye, Pitt has gone from undefeated and ranked No. 18 in the College Football Playoff to a four-game losing streak, the latest of which came Saturday evening at L&N Stadium as Louisville throttled the Panthers, 37-9.
The penalty issues that plagued the offense a week ago were mostly eliminated, but they were replaced by two game-changing interceptions and two failed fourth-down conversions that gifted the Cardinals prime field position.
The first of the interceptions killed an opening drive that might've made one think the offense had found its mojo again. Eli Holstein completed two passes of 20-plus yards to Konata Mumpfield and Desmond Reid and then ran for another 9 yards. But, then this happened:
It was the beginning of the end, as the Cardinals kicked a field goal on that drive, then scored touchdowns on the two drives after that for a 17-0 lead. However, the defense buckled down, forced a three-and-out and then ended Louisville's eight-play 66-yard drive at the goal line.
It was the type of play that could swing the momentum, as I asked Sean Fitzsimmons: "It was huge, a big fourth-down stop is always a momentum swing, but it just wasn't our today." It wasn't, because this followed:
And then this on the very next play to make it 24-0:
A missed tackle allowed that score and another allowed a 68-yard score by Chris Bell, who finished with 101 yards on just two catches, to make it 34-0 in the third quarter. Multiple turnovers and failed fourth-down conversions allowed the Cardinals to start at midfield or in Pitt territory three times, and they also had two drives start near their own 40. On top of that, the Panthers gave up 500 yards of total offense and 10 plays of 15-plus yards, four of 30-plus.
"There were too many sudden changes, whether it was interceptions or fourth-down stops at the 50," Pat Narduzzi said. "I put them in bad positions. That’s why I decided in the second half I’m not going to keep doing it … but we gotta make plays, and we didn’t make enough plays today."
To avoid dropping to 7-5, the Panthers must travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., two days after Thanksgiving and take down a Boston College team that has loss four of its past six but also beat Syracuse and North Carolina in that span.
Still, Narduzzi said the resolve is "good" and "our kids understand where they are."
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