One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Pitt Against North Carolina

The Pitt Panthers did a lot right against North Carolina, which is what makes losing all the more frustrating.

PITTSBURGH -- The funny thing is that the Pitt Panthers actually had a chance to beat No. 17 North Carolina in their 2023 ACC opener at Acrisure Stadium, something head coach Pat Narduzzi bemoaned over and over again. 

Pitt finally got quality play out of starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec. Pitt finally got to unleash star tailback Rodney Hammond. Pitt finally got the vaunted pass rush to heat up. None of it mattered. The Panthers showed some encouraging signs of life and, at the end of the day, still 1-3, with chances for easy wins looking fewer and further between. 

"Again, you are talking about a 17-point game," Narduzzi said. "We had our opportunities in the second half and didn't convert. Just a lot of things happened."

A lot of things did happen, some within the Panthers' realm of control and some without. 

You can't tell the story of this game without including a chapter full of bad injury luck. They arrived at kickoff without a starting linebacker and two starting offensive linemen. They then proceeded to lose their starting quarterback and running back - both of whom were in the midst of their best games of the season to date - in the middle of the night. 

When Pitt lost Phil Jurkovec, they were down just seven points and had the ball in their hands with just under a minute to play in the first half. He had been sharp through the first 29 minutes - accurate, smart and steady. Then, in a cruel twist of fate, he was knocked from the game by an illegal hit that occurred on a drive during which Pitt looked more interested in getting to halftime than scoring any points. 

“His effort was phenomenal today," offensive lineman Blake Zubovic said. "I thought Phil played a really good first half. Absolutely tragic what happened to him."

Fans had been calling for Christian Veilleux to replace Jurkovec for the better part of the past three weeks and they finally got their wish, just not in the context they might have preferred. And even then, Veilleux's tenure at Pitt did not get off to a dazzling start. 

Behind a patchwork offensive line and having to keep pace with one of the best offenses in the country, Veilleux affirmed that Jurkovec was, indeed, the best quarterback on the roster. Instead of the silver bullet many hoped he would be, Pitt's backup looked as overwhelmed and unprepared as any understudy thrown into unexpected action would. 

It wasn't all his fault, though. The offensive line was understandably porous after losing two of its best and most experienced players - Jake Kradel and Matt Goncalves - to injuries. And having to play from down double digits for all of the second half took Rodney Hammond out of the game functionally before an injury took him out literally. 

And then there were the penalties - plentiful and increasingly self-destructive with each passing foul. Pitt committed 11 penalties for 83 yards in a maddening display of undisciplined football and did them all over the field. From pass interference to holding to false starts to illegal substitutions - each and every unit was at fault. 

Even with all of this in mind, I keep coming back to all the good Pitt did because there was plenty of it. They held North Carolina roughly 100 total yards below their season average, sacked Drake Maye five times, kickstarted an anemic offense, blocked a punt and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. But still, this team could not get out of their own way and must now swallow a bitter 17-point loss to a ranked opponent that had the potential to end very differently. 

And after all that, Pitt is left to stare down the barrel of an ACC slate that looks loads more difficult than it did at the beginning of the season. Meanwhile, the Panthers are riddled with injuries and reeling from a three-game losing streak, something this program hasn't seen since October 2020. 

Narduzzi has become somewhat of a turnaround artist over the past couple of years. His teams have rallied from much lower points than this to close seasons strong, which is likely what gives him so much optimism. 

"There's no quit in that locker room. Let me just tell you. They're upset," Narduzzi said. "We'll fix stuff, and we're going to come back. The two teams that will be in the ACC Championship Game at the end of the year will have one loss, guaranteed. There's too much parity in this conference. ... So everything we'll do is still ahead of us. That's a good football team, and we'll be back and go down to Virginia Tech and get it done." 

Narduzzi was assertive and defiant that his team would turn things around, but even if they do, the bitter taste of missed opportunity would stick in their mouths. Pitt made some strides against North Carolina, but is 1-3 all the same and building on that progress will only get harder from here on out. 

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