On a day where everything broke right for the Panthers giving them a real chance to move up in the rankings, the moment got the better of them:
1. Panthers offense played very tight. What has happened to this free wheeling offense is beyond me but last night there appeared to be more dropped passes than there have been all year long. Not just any kind of dropped passes but 7 yard in your hands passes. Perfectly thrown passes were dropped. Drive killing drops that this usually reliable wide receiving corps doesn't do. I mean WTF.
2. People want to talk about Kade Bell's offense being figured out and maybe that's the case but last night there were so many plays where if the QB had any kind of accuracy we'd be talking about the Panthers scoring 35 pts at least. Holstein missed Konata not once but twice on deep posts. First one was a relatively easy throw, lead him and we have six. Second one was was the next play would have extended the drive. Yarnell missed Williams down the sidelines, missed Gavin on a Defensive bust late in the game, waited too long on a double move that was intercepted. You get the picture. The plays were dialed up, but the execution was nowhere to be found. So drops and inaccurate throws is not a good recipe.
3. The D had 2 picks, six sacks, and made UVA punt 6 times. Usually that's a recipe for a win. Probably gave up too many run yards but they were on the field a lot. Got very little help from our O. McMillian made a great play in the back of the end zone to keep the game within reach also. Though giving up the third and long on the last drive was a killer. Louis got there a tad late, the ball fluttered in the air but the UVA receiver was wide open. Once again maybe think about playing a little softer and keep them in front of the sticks but that's not Bates or Duzz's style.
4. Speaking of getting no help, the refs did us no favors at all. Probably the worst crew we've seen all year. Plainly they were abysmal. The hold on 70 on the two pt conversion was a terrible call. The stop on 4th down that was replayed was also the height of incompetence. If UVA snapped before they were supposed it's a 5 yard dead ball penalty. Pitt would have had 6 minutes to get a game winning fg. The no hold call on UVA's big drive on not one but two of our edge guys was a travesty especially when this crew seemed to go out of their way to target every borderline holding call. They allowed the UVA defender to go through Reynolds on a third down stop, clearly getting there early. Refs were just really bad last night.
5. Why Yarnell insisted on throwing the deep pass that was intercepted on the last drive is beyond me. Expect better from him. He had 2 time outs left and plenty of time and once again missed a wide open crossing route. That play was not open and the Pitt receiver was merely clearing out some Cavaliers. Bad pass and he should know better.
6. The biggest play of the game was the blocked fg. Changed the momentum of this game completely. It appeared that the snap was slightly off and took maybe 1/2 second longer than need me to get the kick off. usually the edge guys are let go because of the time it takes to get to the kick. Kid made the play. Gotta give them credit but that flipped this game. 16-7 vs 13-7 is huge.
7. Pitt's best unit right now is the D. Quit taking the ball first and going 3 and out. Defer.
8. It's a tough time to change the OL so severely this late in the season. Moving 3 guys around is a lot to expect and it really showed. Though I thought the run blocking improved as the game went on. Would have liked to see some more rollouts and more max protects.
9. There is no way to sugar coat this but last night was an awful loss. This wasn't a good Virginia team and if we execute even a little bit on offense we should win this game with ease. Maybe with the pressure of the CFP playoff off this team they can relax and let loose a little. Very very disappointed though in them. And now with their OL playing like they did they face a very good front seven in Clemson next week.
10. I wish I had an answer. Typically Narduzzi's teams tend to finish strong but this team is floundering right now. Losing at SMU is one thing but to put on that performance last night at home against a mediocre team is head scratching. Not sure what else to say.
Pitt82
1. Panthers offense played very tight. What has happened to this free wheeling offense is beyond me but last night there appeared to be more dropped passes than there have been all year long. Not just any kind of dropped passes but 7 yard in your hands passes. Perfectly thrown passes were dropped. Drive killing drops that this usually reliable wide receiving corps doesn't do. I mean WTF.
2. People want to talk about Kade Bell's offense being figured out and maybe that's the case but last night there were so many plays where if the QB had any kind of accuracy we'd be talking about the Panthers scoring 35 pts at least. Holstein missed Konata not once but twice on deep posts. First one was a relatively easy throw, lead him and we have six. Second one was was the next play would have extended the drive. Yarnell missed Williams down the sidelines, missed Gavin on a Defensive bust late in the game, waited too long on a double move that was intercepted. You get the picture. The plays were dialed up, but the execution was nowhere to be found. So drops and inaccurate throws is not a good recipe.
3. The D had 2 picks, six sacks, and made UVA punt 6 times. Usually that's a recipe for a win. Probably gave up too many run yards but they were on the field a lot. Got very little help from our O. McMillian made a great play in the back of the end zone to keep the game within reach also. Though giving up the third and long on the last drive was a killer. Louis got there a tad late, the ball fluttered in the air but the UVA receiver was wide open. Once again maybe think about playing a little softer and keep them in front of the sticks but that's not Bates or Duzz's style.
4. Speaking of getting no help, the refs did us no favors at all. Probably the worst crew we've seen all year. Plainly they were abysmal. The hold on 70 on the two pt conversion was a terrible call. The stop on 4th down that was replayed was also the height of incompetence. If UVA snapped before they were supposed it's a 5 yard dead ball penalty. Pitt would have had 6 minutes to get a game winning fg. The no hold call on UVA's big drive on not one but two of our edge guys was a travesty especially when this crew seemed to go out of their way to target every borderline holding call. They allowed the UVA defender to go through Reynolds on a third down stop, clearly getting there early. Refs were just really bad last night.
5. Why Yarnell insisted on throwing the deep pass that was intercepted on the last drive is beyond me. Expect better from him. He had 2 time outs left and plenty of time and once again missed a wide open crossing route. That play was not open and the Pitt receiver was merely clearing out some Cavaliers. Bad pass and he should know better.
6. The biggest play of the game was the blocked fg. Changed the momentum of this game completely. It appeared that the snap was slightly off and took maybe 1/2 second longer than need me to get the kick off. usually the edge guys are let go because of the time it takes to get to the kick. Kid made the play. Gotta give them credit but that flipped this game. 16-7 vs 13-7 is huge.
7. Pitt's best unit right now is the D. Quit taking the ball first and going 3 and out. Defer.
8. It's a tough time to change the OL so severely this late in the season. Moving 3 guys around is a lot to expect and it really showed. Though I thought the run blocking improved as the game went on. Would have liked to see some more rollouts and more max protects.
9. There is no way to sugar coat this but last night was an awful loss. This wasn't a good Virginia team and if we execute even a little bit on offense we should win this game with ease. Maybe with the pressure of the CFP playoff off this team they can relax and let loose a little. Very very disappointed though in them. And now with their OL playing like they did they face a very good front seven in Clemson next week.
10. I wish I had an answer. Typically Narduzzi's teams tend to finish strong but this team is floundering right now. Losing at SMU is one thing but to put on that performance last night at home against a mediocre team is head scratching. Not sure what else to say.
Pitt82
