We often talk about "halftime adjustments" and I'm not always sure how to quantify that idea. I suppose one way to do it is to look at second-half stats, and on that front, I noticed this morning that Pitt's defense allowed a total of 84 points in the third and fourth quarter this season - a little more than seven points per game, on average. That's just the average, though; in practice, Pitt allowed a total of nine touchdowns in the second half during regulation this season.
N.C. State had two of those nine touchdowns; Notre Dame, Clemson and Miami had two each as well. And Boston College and Georgia Tech each scored one touchdown in the second half.
Austin Peay, Syracuse, Florida State and Virginia Tech were shut out after halftime, and Louisville only managed a field goal.
In total, Pitt allowed just 30 points in the fourth quarter this season. N.C. State, Clemson and Georgia Tech were the only teams to score fourth-quarter touchdowns on Pitt in 2020. Miami also kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Obviously there is a lot of context to consider - the N.C. State touchdowns lost that particular game in the fourth quarter; Notre Dame and Clemson didn't really need any touchdowns by the fourth quarter - but in terms of raw numbers, allowing just four fourth-quarter touchdowns in 11 games seems pretty good to me.
N.C. State had two of those nine touchdowns; Notre Dame, Clemson and Miami had two each as well. And Boston College and Georgia Tech each scored one touchdown in the second half.
Austin Peay, Syracuse, Florida State and Virginia Tech were shut out after halftime, and Louisville only managed a field goal.
In total, Pitt allowed just 30 points in the fourth quarter this season. N.C. State, Clemson and Georgia Tech were the only teams to score fourth-quarter touchdowns on Pitt in 2020. Miami also kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Obviously there is a lot of context to consider - the N.C. State touchdowns lost that particular game in the fourth quarter; Notre Dame and Clemson didn't really need any touchdowns by the fourth quarter - but in terms of raw numbers, allowing just four fourth-quarter touchdowns in 11 games seems pretty good to me.
