Underneath all the things that were frustrating about Pitt's game today - and there were plenty of them - there was one thing I kept coming back to as I drove home and did the post-game show:
This team, maybe for the first time, since the North Carolina game, showed how good it can play. It wasn't perfect; not even close. Too many penalties, too many drops, too many mistakes. But when it came down to it, there were a whole bunch of points throughout the game on both sides of the ball where they looked like the team that built a 7-0 record.
The defense has been mostly good all season, so it wasn't a huge surprise that they had a strong day. Although I would be remiss to not point out how they held Phil Mafah - he of the nearly 1,000 yards and 6.1 yards per carry this season - to 17 yards on 17 carries. And the fact that they allowed 102 yards in the entire second half; granted, 75 of those 102 came on the game-winning drive, which can't be ignored. But even then, accounting for those 75 yards means Clemson gained 27 yards for the first 28+ minutes of the half.
But, like I said, the defense has been mostly good all season. The offense, on the other hand - well, I think more than a few Pitt fans have been wondering if the offense would ever be good again this season. The North Carolina game was the offense's last good game, and with every passing week - Cal, Syracuse, SMU, Virginia - those good games felt further and further away.
And in the first half today, it didn't look so hot. But the second half performance was pretty solid:
264 yards, 5.2 yards per play, 5/11 third down (45%) and three scoring drives.
Now, those three scoring drives were one touchdown and two field goals; obviously, they need to convert more of those field goals into touchdowns, and if they had, the outcome of this game would have been more positive for the home team. But with an offense that has been looking for anything positive in the last month or so, moving the ball like they did was pretty encouraging.
What stood out to me was that the offense looked like it had earlier in the season. Konata Mumpfield was finding holes in the zone and caught 7 passes for 68 yards. Desmond Reid was turning short passes into long gains; he had 108 yards on 10 receptions (plus 68 yards on 14 carries for 176 yards of offense). Kenny Johnson made a huge catch for a 27-yard gain. Gavin Bartholomew made a great touchdown play.
That touchdown was a great example: great route, great play call, great throw, great catch.
It was the kind of play that - I don't know, maybe some of us on the outside wondered if this offense could still make, at least in its 2024 incarnation.
Now, maybe the improvement was due to the change at quarterback. That's possible. Eli Holstein hasn't been the same in the last few games. Nate Yarnell wasn't perfect today, but he made some pretty good throws and showed some real heart to get knocked around as much as he did - 8 sacks and a whole bunch of other times he took a shot. Whatever it was, I just can't get past the thought that the offense finally looked like itself for the first time in a month or so.
So while we're not handing out moral victories, I think it's pretty encouraging for the direction of things.
This team, maybe for the first time, since the North Carolina game, showed how good it can play. It wasn't perfect; not even close. Too many penalties, too many drops, too many mistakes. But when it came down to it, there were a whole bunch of points throughout the game on both sides of the ball where they looked like the team that built a 7-0 record.
The defense has been mostly good all season, so it wasn't a huge surprise that they had a strong day. Although I would be remiss to not point out how they held Phil Mafah - he of the nearly 1,000 yards and 6.1 yards per carry this season - to 17 yards on 17 carries. And the fact that they allowed 102 yards in the entire second half; granted, 75 of those 102 came on the game-winning drive, which can't be ignored. But even then, accounting for those 75 yards means Clemson gained 27 yards for the first 28+ minutes of the half.
But, like I said, the defense has been mostly good all season. The offense, on the other hand - well, I think more than a few Pitt fans have been wondering if the offense would ever be good again this season. The North Carolina game was the offense's last good game, and with every passing week - Cal, Syracuse, SMU, Virginia - those good games felt further and further away.
And in the first half today, it didn't look so hot. But the second half performance was pretty solid:
264 yards, 5.2 yards per play, 5/11 third down (45%) and three scoring drives.
Now, those three scoring drives were one touchdown and two field goals; obviously, they need to convert more of those field goals into touchdowns, and if they had, the outcome of this game would have been more positive for the home team. But with an offense that has been looking for anything positive in the last month or so, moving the ball like they did was pretty encouraging.
What stood out to me was that the offense looked like it had earlier in the season. Konata Mumpfield was finding holes in the zone and caught 7 passes for 68 yards. Desmond Reid was turning short passes into long gains; he had 108 yards on 10 receptions (plus 68 yards on 14 carries for 176 yards of offense). Kenny Johnson made a huge catch for a 27-yard gain. Gavin Bartholomew made a great touchdown play.
That touchdown was a great example: great route, great play call, great throw, great catch.
It was the kind of play that - I don't know, maybe some of us on the outside wondered if this offense could still make, at least in its 2024 incarnation.
Now, maybe the improvement was due to the change at quarterback. That's possible. Eli Holstein hasn't been the same in the last few games. Nate Yarnell wasn't perfect today, but he made some pretty good throws and showed some real heart to get knocked around as much as he did - 8 sacks and a whole bunch of other times he took a shot. Whatever it was, I just can't get past the thought that the offense finally looked like itself for the first time in a month or so.
So while we're not handing out moral victories, I think it's pretty encouraging for the direction of things.
