Each week, we've got five questions: one on the offense, one on the defense, one on that week's opponent, one on the ACC and one on recruiting. Here are this week's Five Questions.
Offense - How will Reid’s workload be managed?
This was a big topic of conversation last week, and after another rather sizable workload - 25 touches and 254 yards - we’re talking about it again. How should Desmond Reid’s workload be managed going forward?
In each of the last two seasons at Western Carolina, Reid played right around 300 snaps on offense while playing in 18 games total (10 in 2022; eight in 2023). So far this year, he’s got 103 offensive snaps in two games. So he’s on pace for a heavier workload than he has had in either of his two previous seasons - neither of which he finished. And he’s already showing some signs of wear and tear, with a pronounced limp and pretty clear discomfort late in the Cincinnati game.
At the same time, Reid is essential to Pitt’s success. Finding a balance is not going to be easy.
Defense - To blitz or not to blitz?
For a solid portion of Saturday’s game, Pitt’s defense seemed to be stuck in the in-between: the Panthers couldn’t get pressure without blitzing but they also couldn’t cover well enough to blitz.
They ended up blitzing Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby on 60.5% of his drop-backs, according to Pro Football Focus, and those pressures were kind of effective. Sorsby completed 9-of-23 passes - 39.1% - when Pitt blitzed, but three of his nine completions went for touchdowns. It was truly a feast-or-famine situation, because when Sorsby was under pressure (18 of his 43 drop-backs, per PFF), he completed 5-of-14 passes for 30 yards. But when Cincinnati’s pass protection kept him clean, he completed 70.8% of his passes - including those three touchdowns passes.
So if Pitt blitzed Sorsby and got pressure, it worked out well for the Panthers. But if the pressure didn’t get home, things went pretty poorly.
West Virginia - How much will they run?
The answer is, “Probably a lot.” West Virginia has run the ball more than it has passed in the first two games this season, with C.J. Donaldson (26 carries) and Jaheim White (18 carries) leading the way and quarterback Garrett Greene adding 17 more attempts (of which PFF says 14 were designed rushes, not scrambles or sacks).
Donaldson, in particular, has to be salivating at this matchup. In two previous games against Pitt, the former tight end has rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. That’s more than nine yards per carry. White didn’t carry the ball against the Panthers last season, but he had a productive year with 842 yards on 109 carries (7.7 yards per carry).
Throw in the threat of a quarterback run game and top it off with the success Cincinnati had running the ball against Pitt last week, and it’s not hard to imagine what WVU’s game plan will be.
So, again, the answer to the question above is, “Probably a lot.” For Pitt, the question is more about how the Panthers will adjust and try to stop WVU’s run game.
The ACC - What happened at SMU?
Many touted the quarterbacks in the ACC this offseason, and for good reason: the conference returned a number of productive players and added a bunch more from the transfer portal. In the former group was Preston Stone, SMU’s returning starter who threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns to lead the Mustangs to an 11-3 record in 2023.
Now, three games into the 2024 season, Stone is on the bench after SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee announced this week that the Mustangs would turn to third-year quarterback Kevin Jennings, who replaced Stone in Saturday’s loss to BYU this past weekend. It was a surprising turn, at least in comparison to the expectations, which saw Stone frequently mentioned on preseason all-conference lists and national watch lists. But his performance through two-plus games was below the line of what Lashlee wanted, apparently; Stone completed 58.1% of his passes for 336 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Jennings wasn’t much better in the loss to BYU; after he replaced Stone, Jennings threw for 140 yards and an interception on 15-of-32 passing (46.9%).
Now SMU, at one point the darling of the ACC’s offseason acquisitions, seems to be floundering in its first year in the conference (in announcing the change at quarterback, Lashlee even went so far as to imply that expects Stone to transfer). It’s a far cry from the lofty expectations the Mustangs brought with them in realignment.
Recruiting - How packed will the sidelines be?
Big games are a great opportunity for recruiting, and Saturday should be no different. The sidelines will be full of prospects before the game, with a big chunk of Pitt’s 2025 recruiting class in attendance as well as a whole crop of 2026 and 2027 targets - including a bunch of guys from Western Pennsylvania.
And that’s exactly what Pitt should be going for. There aren’t many opportunities when it comes to showcasing Acrisure Stadium at its best: packed to the rafters, loud, exciting. A great environment.
I don’t know how the game will go, but I know what the crowd and the atmosphere will be like, and that’s exactly what you want to show to recruits. That’s the message you want to send:
“Come to Pitt and play in a setting like this.”
Offense - How will Reid’s workload be managed?
This was a big topic of conversation last week, and after another rather sizable workload - 25 touches and 254 yards - we’re talking about it again. How should Desmond Reid’s workload be managed going forward?
In each of the last two seasons at Western Carolina, Reid played right around 300 snaps on offense while playing in 18 games total (10 in 2022; eight in 2023). So far this year, he’s got 103 offensive snaps in two games. So he’s on pace for a heavier workload than he has had in either of his two previous seasons - neither of which he finished. And he’s already showing some signs of wear and tear, with a pronounced limp and pretty clear discomfort late in the Cincinnati game.
At the same time, Reid is essential to Pitt’s success. Finding a balance is not going to be easy.
Defense - To blitz or not to blitz?
For a solid portion of Saturday’s game, Pitt’s defense seemed to be stuck in the in-between: the Panthers couldn’t get pressure without blitzing but they also couldn’t cover well enough to blitz.
They ended up blitzing Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby on 60.5% of his drop-backs, according to Pro Football Focus, and those pressures were kind of effective. Sorsby completed 9-of-23 passes - 39.1% - when Pitt blitzed, but three of his nine completions went for touchdowns. It was truly a feast-or-famine situation, because when Sorsby was under pressure (18 of his 43 drop-backs, per PFF), he completed 5-of-14 passes for 30 yards. But when Cincinnati’s pass protection kept him clean, he completed 70.8% of his passes - including those three touchdowns passes.
So if Pitt blitzed Sorsby and got pressure, it worked out well for the Panthers. But if the pressure didn’t get home, things went pretty poorly.
West Virginia - How much will they run?
The answer is, “Probably a lot.” West Virginia has run the ball more than it has passed in the first two games this season, with C.J. Donaldson (26 carries) and Jaheim White (18 carries) leading the way and quarterback Garrett Greene adding 17 more attempts (of which PFF says 14 were designed rushes, not scrambles or sacks).
Donaldson, in particular, has to be salivating at this matchup. In two previous games against Pitt, the former tight end has rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. That’s more than nine yards per carry. White didn’t carry the ball against the Panthers last season, but he had a productive year with 842 yards on 109 carries (7.7 yards per carry).
Throw in the threat of a quarterback run game and top it off with the success Cincinnati had running the ball against Pitt last week, and it’s not hard to imagine what WVU’s game plan will be.
So, again, the answer to the question above is, “Probably a lot.” For Pitt, the question is more about how the Panthers will adjust and try to stop WVU’s run game.
The ACC - What happened at SMU?
Many touted the quarterbacks in the ACC this offseason, and for good reason: the conference returned a number of productive players and added a bunch more from the transfer portal. In the former group was Preston Stone, SMU’s returning starter who threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns to lead the Mustangs to an 11-3 record in 2023.
Now, three games into the 2024 season, Stone is on the bench after SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee announced this week that the Mustangs would turn to third-year quarterback Kevin Jennings, who replaced Stone in Saturday’s loss to BYU this past weekend. It was a surprising turn, at least in comparison to the expectations, which saw Stone frequently mentioned on preseason all-conference lists and national watch lists. But his performance through two-plus games was below the line of what Lashlee wanted, apparently; Stone completed 58.1% of his passes for 336 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Jennings wasn’t much better in the loss to BYU; after he replaced Stone, Jennings threw for 140 yards and an interception on 15-of-32 passing (46.9%).
Now SMU, at one point the darling of the ACC’s offseason acquisitions, seems to be floundering in its first year in the conference (in announcing the change at quarterback, Lashlee even went so far as to imply that expects Stone to transfer). It’s a far cry from the lofty expectations the Mustangs brought with them in realignment.
Recruiting - How packed will the sidelines be?
Big games are a great opportunity for recruiting, and Saturday should be no different. The sidelines will be full of prospects before the game, with a big chunk of Pitt’s 2025 recruiting class in attendance as well as a whole crop of 2026 and 2027 targets - including a bunch of guys from Western Pennsylvania.
And that’s exactly what Pitt should be going for. There aren’t many opportunities when it comes to showcasing Acrisure Stadium at its best: packed to the rafters, loud, exciting. A great environment.
I don’t know how the game will go, but I know what the crowd and the atmosphere will be like, and that’s exactly what you want to show to recruits. That’s the message you want to send:
“Come to Pitt and play in a setting like this.”
