Pitt Defense Demands Everyone's Respect

The Pitt Panthers defense demands everyone's respect after the Syracuse win.

Oct 24, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Syracuse Orange quarterback Kyle McCord (6) scores a touchdown against Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Brandon George (30) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The No. 19 Pitt Panthers received much praise early on in the season for their offensive prowess, but the defense has shown they deserve that same respect and adulation with their recent performances.

The Panthers stepped up for a struggling offense against the Cal Golden Bears, holding them to 15 points in their Week 7 matchup. They did the same against the Syracuse Orange in Week 9, keeping them from having any momentum in the 41-13 blowout.

Pitt, defensively, scored more points than Syracuse, with five interceptions and three of them going for pick-sixes. Linebackers in sophomores Rasheem Biles and Braylan Lovelace, plus redshirt senior Kyle Louis all got in the end zone, while sixth year Brandon George caught a pass on the ground for his.

Sophomore linebacker Jordan Bass also played a role in the final interception, tipping the pass and allowing senior defensive back Phillip O'Brien Jr. to catch it.

The Panhers' defense made Orange senior quarterback Kyle McCord's night the worst in his collegiate career. They finished wth four sacks, eight quarterback hits, nine tackles for loss and eight pass breakups in the victory.

McCord finished with more than 300 yards passing, but even with 41 minutes of possesion, Syracuse only mustered two second half touchdowns in the defeat.

The national media, when talking about the game this week, praised McCord and saw this as an offensive showdown between him and newcomer in Pitt redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein, which the Pitt defense disliked, especially Louis.

"...They was hyping up Kyle McCord, they was playing out our passing defense," Louis said postgame. "So, you know the whole week, the whole bye week, our defense took that personally. Definitely disrespecting us all-around..."

Louis praised the linebacker corps, known as "The Sharks," for their play in the win and that they don't take kindly to those who think they can outplay them and disrespect them.

"We hungry bro," Louis said. "We getting disrespected, like, nobody putting respect on our defense. So we hungry, we hungry for respect. For anybody that try and can come in here and think they disrespect us and think they can get away with it. We pride ourselves on being called the Sharks. If you come here, you better learn how to swim. It's that simple."

The three pick-sixes that Pitt made in that first half was the first time an FBS team did that since USC against Rice in a 66-14 victory on Sept. 3, 2022. They were also the first team to do it in the first half since FIU did in a 52-6 win over FAU on Nov. 26, 2005.

Biles and Louis also made their pick-sixes in the first quarter, the first time for Pitt since M.J. Devonshire and Marquis Williams intercepted the first two passes of the game for touchdowns against Virginia on Nov. 12, 2022 from quarterback Brennan Armstrong.

"It's gotta be the best performance all-time on this team," Louis said. "Somebody gotta show me something better. That's crazy. Five picks, three pick-sixes, four sacks. They had like 18 rushing yards (six). Like come on, come on. Somebody gotta search that up in the history books. We got to be put up on a wall or something after that performance."

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi argued postgame that they should change the rule on pick-sixes to give the ball to the offense of the team that scored and not the team that threw the interception. He has also not seen a team play like this and have the explosive plays the way they did.

"I've never been around three interceptions for touchdowns," Narduzzi said. "Five total interceptions first time since 2008 you had five interceptions in a game. That's dominating. We've had some pick-sixes wherever I've been. But to have three of them in one game. Hope we didn't use 'em all up. We need to save a couple."

This performance wasn't just about the pick-sixes, but rather, the entire defense showing that no team can overlook them the rest of the season.

Pitt changed with the additions of new offensive coordinator Kade Bell, who helped land redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein from Alabama and also brought in some of his players from Western Carolina, including junior star running back Desmond Lee and wide receivers in redshirt junior Raphael "Poppi" Williams Jr. and Censere "C.J." Lee.

The new offensive look, one that spreads the ball out to numerous options quickly, has had great success this season, but the two most recent games show that a top defense is what wins you ballgames.

If the defense continues to play this way, no team in the country will have a chance to disrespect them the rest of the season.

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• Twitter Reaction to Pitt Win vs. Syracuse
• Pitt’s Defense Dominates in Win Over Syracuse
• Pitt QB Leaves Game With Injury
• Pitt LBs Pull Off Three Pick-Sixes
• Pitt Kicker Ben Sauls Sets School Record

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